Dec. 12, 2025

62. What Every Midlife Woman Needs to Know About Money and Retirement Planning, with Shari Rash

62. What Every Midlife Woman Needs to Know About Money and Retirement Planning, with Shari Rash

Are you a woman over 40 or 50 feeling stressed, behind, or unsure about money, retirement planning, or your financial future? You’re NOT alone — and you’re not stuck. In this episode of Mind Your Midlife, financial advisor Shari Rash joins me to break down money mindset, retirement planning, financial confidence, and the real emotional side of finances for midlife women navigating career changes, aging parents, kids leaving the nest, and the fear of not saving “enough.”

If money makes you anxious — or if you’re ready to feel more empowered, confident, and informed — this episode is for you.

What You’ll Learn:

✔ How money mindset affects financial decisions for midlife women
✔ Why women over 50 often feel behind on retirement planning
✔ Practical steps to build financial confidence in midlife
✔ What women REALLY need to save for retirement (and how to understand it)
✔ How to balance enjoying life now with planning for long-term financial wellness

🎯 OMG Moment:

Your mindset about money matters just as much as your bank balance. When you shift how you feel about money, you transform what becomes possible.

Take Action Today:

Why This Episode Matters 

Midlife is a powerful turning point. It’s when so many women feel the weight of money stress — from paying for college to caring for aging parents to wondering whether retirement will be possible.

You don’t need perfection — you just need a starting point.



Text me to ask a question - I'll answer on the podcast!

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🫶 Love this show? Leave a review to help more women over 50 find us.

💡Want menopause support, mindset shifts, or support with midlife transitions?

Let’s talk midlife body positivity, self-talk, and redefining aging for women — without the “midlife crisis” narrative. Every week I'm adding new success strategies for midlife women.

Connect with Cheryl, Midlife Coach: Instagram | LinkedIn | Website

00:00 - Dreaming About Retirement

02:43 - Why Money Feels Like A Foreign Language

06:45 - Start Early Or Start Now

10:56 - Emergency Funds Before 401k

14:40 - Roth IRA And Roth 401k Explained

20:13 - Order Of Operations For Saving

23:45 - How Much Do You Really Need

28:53 - Avoiding All-Cash Portfolios

33:53 - Filling The Income Gap

37:55 - Early Retirement And Bridging Strategies

42:47 - The Mindset Shift Of Retiring

WEBVTT

00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:02.879
I am in my mid-50s.

00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:15.279
And if you are anywhere around that age range with me, I bet you we're all thinking, gosh, wouldn't it be nice not to have to go to work every day?

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Maybe retirement could be fun.

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Or we're watching people who are a few years older than us retire and we're thinking, wait, they're traveling, they're living at this amazing place, they're doing whatever they want.

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It seems amazing.

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And yet, we need to do some planning to get there, and maybe we get a little stressed about the money involved.

00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:42.719
So let's talk about it.

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Welcome to Mind Your Midlife, your go-to resource for confidence and success, one thought at a time.

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Unlike most advice out there, we believe that simply telling you to believe in yourself or change your habits isn't enough to wake up excited about life or feel truly confident in your body.

00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:12.879
Each week, you'll gain actionable strategies and oh my goodness, powerful insights to stop feeling stuck and start loving your midlife.

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This is the Mind Your Midlife podcast.

00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:22.719
Now, maybe what I just said is not at all how you're thinking.

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You're thinking, I cannot imagine retiring because I would be so bored.

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What would I do during the day?

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Fair, that's fair.

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And I think we all want to have more power over our day-to-day lives.

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We all, to a certain extent, varying extents, like the idea of being in charge of our own day.

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And that's certainly a piece of what retirement gives us.

00:01:48.400 --> 00:02:04.959
So as we look forward, maybe as excited as me or maybe not, we have to take into account that if and when we retire, we need to be able to afford to eat and live and maybe travel.

00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:08.080
So there comes the money topic.

00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:21.199
And my guest today is going to talk with us about some very practical tips for how to plan for retirement with your money, different types of accounts that you need to be aware of.

00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:25.759
And also, we're going to talk about the mindset piece.

00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:38.159
Because if we have kind of a weird relationship with money, or if this whole thing is just making us extremely stressed, we need to kind of work that out too before we're actually in this retirement time period.

00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:44.960
So Sherry Rash from the podcast Everyone's Talkin' Money is joining me today.

00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:55.919
She helps women ditch guilt, own their financial power, and build real wealth without shame and without all the spreadsheets.

00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:58.960
That podcast I would strongly recommend.

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It is a New York Times-named top four money podcast.

00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:06.000
So everyone's talking money, have a listen.

00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:11.360
She's also a mom of four, and so she is living what we're talking about.

00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:12.319
Welcome, Sherry.

00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:13.280
Thanks for having me.

00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:15.280
I'm excited for our conversation.

00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:18.159
I am excited for her conversation for her.

00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:21.439
I am excited for our conversation as well.

00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:34.479
And if you're listening, I am also going to link to an episode in the show notes when many eons ago, Sherry joined me on the OMG Teach Me podcast before the current version.

00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:37.039
So you can go have a listen to that as well.

00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:47.680
So I know that women having a positive relationship with money is a powerful topic for you.

00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:53.039
So tell us more about why that's important to you and how that came about.

00:03:53.759 --> 00:04:01.759
Yeah, one, I am a woman when it and I talk money every day since I you know graduated college.

00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:05.360
I've been in finance my entire career, and it's what I talk about.

00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:08.960
So it only comes, it obviously comes very natural to me.

00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:14.960
So I know no different of like not being comfortable with money and talking about money.

00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:32.560
So then as time would go by and I'd speak to other women and um clients, and it it not everyone feels the same way I do, which was interesting, or not everyone even has a desire to understand money.

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And I can't go changing anyone's mind.

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I'm only one person, but I can try my best.

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Um and but I and I think why people women are intimidated is because they've been hearing a man's language, a man speak about it forever.

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And so by default, when you you we speak English, you hear someone speak French, I have no idea what they're saying, and like I can't pay attention to it because I have no idea what they're saying.

00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:04.639
That's the same way with money.

00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:18.079
If you're hearing someone speak about money that just speaks a different language than you, and most men do, we're obviously going to be turned off and not interested or feel like this isn't for me, or I'm never gonna understand it.

00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:22.639
The problem is though we don't realize it's a different language, we just think it's a fault of ours.

00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:23.600
Ooh.

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Ooh, can we just pause on that for just a second?

00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:28.879
Because that is such a good point.

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We blame ourselves and we think, oh, I just don't get it.

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I don't get it.

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I'm never gonna get it.

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It comes easily to other people, it comes easier to my spouse or partner, my brother, my father, my uncle.

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It comes easier to all of them.

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It doesn't come easy to me, so it's a me problem.

00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:55.199
And it's not, it's just no one has spoken to you about money in a way that connects with you.

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Not even in a way that you understand, because it's not an understanding issue.

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Um, it's a way, it's a connection issue.

00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:18.240
One of the things that I always think about also when when talking about women and money is it's been in my lifetime since women could even have our own credit cards and our own bank accounts without a husband or a father's name.

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And when I first learned that, I was shocked, but it was in the mid-1970s.

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And it's crazy to think about that.

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It is, it is, it is crazy.

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And it's like, well, no wonder why we feel behind or we feel all of these things.

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Cause yeah, I mean, fish it's only been 50 years.

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Like, that's not that long of a time that women have had the same rights as men when it comes to their money.

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So it by default, of course, we feel like we're behind or we don't know as much because like we are in the sense of being able to do the same things.

00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:12.000
And then when it's men talking at you about money and they're talking a different language, then that just adds it's like a you know adds insult to injury, if you will.

00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:14.000
Yeah, so true.

00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:28.560
I I want to segue us into talking about retirement, but I'm so glad we've just had this discussion because it I just want to say again, you know, if you've always thought of if you're listening, you've always thought of yourself as I don't get it, I'm not gonna understand, I don't get the stock market.

00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:29.680
What are they talking about?

00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:33.439
Maybe it's because you just haven't heard it explained to you in a way that makes sense.

00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:34.879
I love that angle.

00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:36.879
Yeah, I love that angle.

00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:48.959
Okay, so let's say that I'm listening to this and I'm in my 40s, which I'm not, but let's imagine.

00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:57.279
And we're gonna start talking about things to think about when we're looking at or towards retirement.

00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:02.319
But if I'm in my mid-40s, I'm not gonna retire for another 15 to 20 years.

00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:06.639
So is that too early to start planning for retirement?

00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:10.160
Or when is kind of the right time if there is one?

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It's like that saying.

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Um, and I hate it, but it it makes complete sense.

00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:21.199
What you know, when's the best time to plant a tree 10 years ago, 20 years ago, when's the second best time today?

00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:21.680
Yeah.

00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:23.040
That's that's money.

00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:24.560
That's money too.

00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:33.600
So I have clients that I get introduced to because I'm working with their aunt, for example.

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Well, you have to meet my niece.

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She's just graduating college.

00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:45.200
It's probably too early, but she's just graduating, and I want someone to talk to her and like tell her all the things like I should have been told, right?

00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:58.720
And so I'll I speak to these young adults, and it's like, yeah, I know it sounds weird that you just went through these four years or however many years to get your degree, to then get a job.

00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:04.320
But now, yeah, you we are gonna have to start thinking about retirement, which sounds crazy.

00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:13.279
Because if you want to make your life, your future life as easy as possible, start doing something as early as possible.

00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:15.279
Even if that's today, right?

00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:26.879
Even if that's today, start doing something because the the earlier you start investing, the less you in general have to save, invest.

00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:27.600
Yeah.

00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:36.240
Because someone that started saving the the um, you know, the second they started working, 22 years old, started saving for retirement.

00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:44.639
If it was like 25 bucks a month, 50 bucks a month, that money is doing nothing but growing for 40 years.

00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:47.759
And you think, well, it's only 25 bucks, it's only 50 bucks.

00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:57.679
Yeah, over growth, you know, 7% on average, compounded growth for 40 years, that 25 bucks is gonna become a substantial amount of money.

00:09:57.679 --> 00:09:58.159
Right.

00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:19.360
When you're closer to your destination, when you're closer to retirement, so if you're in your 40s listening to this and you're like, well, I haven't started yet, to get to that same dollar amount at your endpoint of retirement, 65 years old, 67, whatever we're gonna call it, you need to save that much more because your money doesn't have as long to work for you.

00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:28.399
So it's any amount, so eat so don't even think like, well, it's such a little amount, it's not even gonna make that big of a difference.

00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:29.279
It does.

00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:30.080
It does.

00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:35.360
So it's always the right time to start, if you're wondering.

00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:36.559
I like that.

00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:37.279
I like that.

00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:39.039
It's always the right time to start.

00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:45.279
And so when you say save, what are what are some ways that that we can do that?

00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:55.759
Yeah, so there is a risk of saving quote unquote too much for retirement or in retirement accounts.

00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:59.759
I I fell victim of this.

00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:07.279
So when I graduated college, I started contributing right away to my company's 401k.

00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:09.440
They're very generous with the match.

00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:12.799
I am very shiny object syndrome.

00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:15.919
So as soon as money hits my checking account, it is being spent.

00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:23.759
So I liked the idea of it being automated, and then that I was, and I was getting a match, and then I liked seeing it grow.

00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:25.360
So I got excitement from that.

00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:27.120
I got, I got like joy from that.

00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:31.279
So I started putting more and more and more money away in my retirement.

00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:40.320
Well, that's great, but well, one, now I really don't have to save anymore for retirement because I've done, I did a good job in the beginning.

00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:42.240
Then now I can just let my money grow.

00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:43.200
I'm 40.

00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:48.000
I can just let my money grow for 25 years and like I'll be in a in a good position.

00:11:48.000 --> 00:12:00.399
But conversely, why that's a risk is that when you put all of your money in a retirement account, which I'll talk about all the all the different retirement accounts, when you put your money in a retirement account, it's for retirement.

00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:02.240
You can't use it, you can't touch it.

00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:02.879
True.

00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:03.679
Right.

00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:15.200
So I at 23 years old, when I had, you know, this money in a retirement account, if I had an emergency, I didn't have enough cash saved, I was kind of out of luck.

00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:22.480
Because you can't pull that money out without paying a 10% penalty if you're younger than 59 and a half.

00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:22.799
Yeah.

00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:24.399
So 10%'s a big penalty.

00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:24.639
Yeah.

00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:29.600
It's a big penalty, plus all the taxes you have to pay on it because it was pre-tax money.

00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:35.759
So as far as like, I want to start saving and where should I save?

00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:41.120
Okay, first and foremost, we want to have enough cash.

00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:43.200
We want to have enough in a bank account.

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That's an emergency fund, right?

00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:48.080
So we want to do that first.

00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:54.639
And if you say, well, I have debt, so should I pay off the debt first, then start saving in my emergency fund?

00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:56.320
No, I want you to do both.

00:12:56.320 --> 00:13:08.399
I want you to tag team it because if you focus all of your energy on the debt and then you have an emergency, you have to bring on more debt to handle the emergency.

00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:09.759
You don't have the cash.

00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:12.320
Kind of the theme is like the extremes.

00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:15.519
We don't want to go extreme in any one direction, right?

00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:19.279
We will we want to, you know, stay, stay down the middle.

00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:26.159
So we want to make sure you have enough cash saved in a bank account, you know, emergency fund.

00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:30.320
Then if it's like, okay, well, Sherry, I did that, like check that box.

00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:31.120
Awesome.

00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:35.039
Now, if we want to save for retirement, there's a couple of different ways to do it.

00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:44.000
If your employer offers an employer-sponsored plan, 401k, 403B, contribute to that up to the match.

00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:46.320
That's the match is free money.

00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:49.279
They're giving you money just for contributing.

00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:51.039
So we're doing that.

00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:51.600
Okay.

00:13:51.600 --> 00:14:00.080
Then there's also in the theme of retirement, there's also IRAs, individual retirement accounts.

00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:04.480
So these are accounts you open up on your own outside of your employer.

00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:06.240
You do it yourself.

00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:12.159
And you can do it at like a Fidelity and e-trade, Schwab, companies like that.

00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:14.480
You can open up these accounts for yourself.

00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:24.000
And the IRA is um pre-tax, meaning you get a tax deduction for contributing to it and it grows without paying taxes.

00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:27.039
And then when you make the withdrawal, you pay taxes.

00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:27.360
Right.

00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:30.879
So you pay taxes when you when you withdraw in retirement.

00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:34.879
The Roth is what my favorite thing is: the Roth IRA.

00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:40.639
Or if and if your employer offers a Roth 401k, that's like that's that's awesome.

00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:41.440
That's great.

00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.879
I feel like everyone's heard this term Roth and no one knows what it is.

00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:46.159
So I'm glad you're talking about it.

00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:46.879
Yeah.

00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:51.200
So a Roth is um, it's a retirement account.

00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:54.879
You contribute to the Roth with after tax dollars.

00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:58.960
So money that hits your checking account, you've already paid taxes on it.

00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:07.440
You contribute to the Roth, and the Roth then grows tax deferred, meaning you're not paying taxes on any of the earnings.

00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:13.840
But here's the best part you make the withdrawals in retirement and you don't pay taxes on them.

00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:14.720
Wow.

00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:20.320
So you essentially pay taxes once and never pay taxes again on this money.

00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:26.639
Assuming you follow, I have to assuming you follow the rules of it, but say we wait till retirement, you're never paying the taxes again.

00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:29.120
Um, that's very powerful.

00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:45.600
So 23-year-old Sherry that was setting aside money in her Roth 401k, future Sherry's gonna be very happy with her because then I'm gonna have a nice pile of Roth money that I'm not gonna have to pay taxes on.

00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:46.000
Right.

00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.720
So we want to do things that like our future selves are gonna be happy with us for, right?

00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:53.200
How much how much are we gonna appreciate that?

00:15:53.679 --> 00:16:04.960
And also, to your point, hopefully not causing 23-year-old Sherry to have to go into credit card debt because you didn't have enough money to live on because it was all going in the Roth IRA.

00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:05.519
That's right.

00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:06.080
That's right.

00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:08.639
Yes, yes, okay, exactly.

00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:21.200
Okay, but yes, I get certainly the concept that if we're taking the money after tax now, so we've paid taxes on this part of our income, and then we're never paying taxes on it again.

00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:24.240
So we're earning money and we're not paying taxes on the money we earn.

00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:25.120
That's amazing.

00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:27.679
Yeah, it's great, it's fantastic.

00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:31.200
So there's and there's really no catch.

00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:34.320
Like you you have just have to follow the rules of the Roth.

00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:40.240
So once you put it away, you just have to think to yourself, I'm not using this until I retire.

00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:44.159
You can you can withdraw your contributions tax-free.

00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:48.399
Like you, so you can do that, but even still, let's just like forget about it.

00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:55.519
Let's we're gonna have enough money saved in the emergency fund and all of that stuff that we're not even gonna need to access it.

00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:56.080
Right.

00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:00.080
There are some income limitations to the Roth.

00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:05.519
If you make too much money, you can't contribute directly to the Roth.

00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:07.359
There are ways around it.

00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:09.039
I don't want to get too deep in the weeds.

00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:09.839
Yeah, that's okay.

00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:17.119
Um but so but don't, but even if you say, well, you know, I read if you if I make so much too much money, I can't do it.

00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:18.160
You you can.

00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:21.200
It's just a convert a backdoor Roth is what it's called.

00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:22.000
It's easy to do.

00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:24.400
It sounds more complicated than what it is.

00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:39.440
But that would be the best way if if to start, in my opinion, to start saving for retirement is one, if you're if you have an employer sponsor plan, contribute up to the match, get all that free money you can.

00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:46.559
Don't feel the need to go over and above that match amount, um, then let's look at the Roth.

00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:47.119
Okay.

00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:49.119
Then that would be the next step.

00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:49.519
Okay.

00:17:49.680 --> 00:18:08.319
If you then are like, all right, I'm going up to the match, like as far as like order of operations go, we're making sure we have enough cash in the bank, we're then contributing to our match, we're then doing the Roth and contributing there and maxing that out, um, which based on your age, you could do seven or eight thousand dollars a year.

00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:12.480
Then if you're like, well, if I still have money, I still want to do more, I can do more.

00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:27.359
I'm ready, I'm saving, I'm I'm ready to, you know, be nice to my future self, then you could look at, you know, then going back to your 401k and increasing your contribution there, or saving in what's called like an after tax account.

00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:31.759
And this is money for future you, but like not retirement future you.

00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:37.759
Like this is, I want to go on a really awesome vacation in three years you, I want to do a home renovation.

00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:49.920
That's uh the next type of account you could save for, which is called um uh uh you see a couple different names: brokerage account, individual account, after tax account.

00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:53.279
They all have there's different names, but they all mean the same thing.

00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:58.000
Yeah, very good point because we know we need money for retirement.

00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:03.599
We're probably working with our aging parents now and hoping they have enough money and all of that stuff.

00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:12.319
So we know we need that, but we also might need money in our 50s or whatever, or want, not even need, want.

00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:13.839
Yeah, good point.

00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:28.000
I like I like that you've said a couple times that we need to make sure we have money on hand because when we get to talking about this retirement topic, I think it sort of feels like, no, don't spend anything now, put it all away for later.

00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:29.440
But that's not realistic.

00:20:04.420 --> 00:20:05.540
It's not realistic.

00:20:05.540 --> 00:20:09.620
And also we want to be real, we need rewards, right?

00:20:09.620 --> 00:20:13.779
We need to feel like we're doing something, we need to feel like we're achieving something.

00:20:13.779 --> 00:20:19.779
Um, so to put everything away into retirement, you're not doing anything to help yourself today, right?

00:20:19.779 --> 00:20:24.019
So after a while that's gonna get exhausting, and then you're gonna start resenting your savings.

00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:24.580
Right.

00:20:24.580 --> 00:20:26.580
And yeah, life is for living.

00:20:26.580 --> 00:20:32.100
I and I I say that with all of my clients like you, you, you, you work hard, you need to enjoy yourself.

00:20:32.100 --> 00:20:34.420
There ever there's there's it's the extreme.

00:20:34.420 --> 00:20:36.580
Extremes on either side are not good, right?

00:20:36.580 --> 00:20:40.500
The oversaving is not good, and then but then the undersaving is not good.

00:20:40.500 --> 00:20:48.340
So we need to not fall into the extremes and you need and and but planning for different times of your life.

00:20:48.340 --> 00:20:51.060
Retirement is only one part of your life.

00:20:51.060 --> 00:20:56.980
Your midlife is another part, and you need to plan for that financially as well.

00:20:56.980 --> 00:20:58.820
Yeah, I like that a lot.

00:20:59.140 --> 00:21:05.300
Okay, so I'm gonna ask you the question that personally weighs on my mind a lot.

00:21:05.300 --> 00:21:07.620
And my husband and I talk about this a lot.

00:21:07.620 --> 00:21:12.900
And so, given that probably if you're listening, you're in your 40s, 50s, 60s.

00:21:12.900 --> 00:21:17.860
Here's the big question: how much do we need to retire?

00:21:17.860 --> 00:21:25.380
Oh I'm aware you can't just give us a number, but I still am asking the question.

00:21:25.380 --> 00:21:27.779
Okay, what does your husband say?

00:21:27.779 --> 00:21:38.180
I think he is he doesn't give really an answer except that let's make sure we have as much as we can, you know, like we're we're not sure.

00:21:38.420 --> 00:21:38.820
Yeah.

00:21:38.820 --> 00:21:49.140
So when my clients, I just I just had a meeting with one of my clients the other day, and she's like, I read this article that you need like three million dollars to retire.

00:21:49.140 --> 00:21:50.900
She's like, What do you think about that?

00:21:50.900 --> 00:21:53.620
I said, I said, I hate, I hate that stuff.

00:21:53.620 --> 00:21:59.140
I hate that because it's it's clickbait, it's just trying to get a reaction out of us, right?

00:21:59.140 --> 00:22:02.980
So the answer is there is not an answer.

00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:16.500
Like I cannot say you need a million dollars to retire because I everyone, what they everyone's spending is different, everyone's income is different, everyone's needs are different.

00:22:16.500 --> 00:22:19.940
There's so many factors to to to look at.

00:22:19.940 --> 00:22:28.500
So when I'm working with with my clients and we're, you know, we're having these retirement conversations, which I'm having at least five years out.

00:22:28.500 --> 00:22:34.100
So it's not as if my clients are retiring next year and we're starting planning then.

00:22:34.100 --> 00:22:40.580
No, I know I want five years because that's when I start to make changes to their portfolio.

00:22:40.580 --> 00:22:44.980
Because a mistake people make, and I'm I'm gonna take a detour for a second.

00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:50.259
A mistake people make is they think, well, I'm nearing retirement or I'm I am in retirement.

00:22:50.259 --> 00:22:52.180
I can't afford to lose any money.

00:22:52.180 --> 00:22:54.740
So I'm I need to make my portfolio conservative.

00:22:54.740 --> 00:22:57.779
I need to be conservative, like move everything to cash.

00:22:58.019 --> 00:22:58.340
Yeah.

00:22:58.500 --> 00:23:02.340
That's a mistake because yeah, part of the thinking is correct.

00:23:02.340 --> 00:23:03.620
Remember the extremes.

00:23:03.620 --> 00:23:05.140
Part of the thinking is correct.

00:23:05.140 --> 00:23:10.180
Yes, you don't want to have a market downturn blow up your plan, right?

00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:11.620
That is correct.

00:23:11.620 --> 00:23:18.180
But then the other side of that, so, so, so putting it all in cash makes sense to address that risk.

00:23:18.180 --> 00:23:22.580
But then you're leaving yourself wide open to another risk, inflation.

00:23:22.580 --> 00:23:24.500
Stuff just costs more.

00:23:24.500 --> 00:23:28.100
So, especially healthcare costs in retirement, right?

00:23:28.100 --> 00:23:36.980
So if you're putting everything in cash, and yeah, we were getting decent rates for a while on our cash, but that's not happening as much anymore.

00:23:36.980 --> 00:23:41.380
So now that coupled with inflation, you're now losing money.

00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:44.180
Your money has less purchasing power each year.

00:23:44.180 --> 00:23:47.140
So sticking it all in cash isn't the answer.

00:23:47.140 --> 00:23:51.140
But then leaving it wide open to volatility isn't the answer, right?

00:23:51.140 --> 00:23:52.180
So what is?

00:23:52.180 --> 00:23:56.580
It's a little bit of everything because you also want your money to grow.

00:23:56.580 --> 00:24:01.700
Because if we do it right, we're living 25, 30 years into retirement.

00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:02.580
Absolutely.

00:24:02.580 --> 00:24:06.259
So we need this money to grow for all of these years.

00:24:06.259 --> 00:24:10.420
So just because you're in retirement does not mean your you your money stops growing.

00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:12.980
It has to grow because we need it to last 30 years.

00:24:12.980 --> 00:24:16.900
So that's just like a quick aside on like some of the investing mistakes people make.

00:24:16.900 --> 00:24:18.820
So the answer is a little bit of everything.

00:24:18.820 --> 00:24:25.620
You still need a portion of your portfolio to be aggressive, because it has a 30-year time horizon.

00:24:25.620 --> 00:24:35.140
You still need a portion of your portfolio to be down the middle because to smooth out some of that volatility, then you still need a portion of your portfolio to be conservative.

00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:43.140
And so that's what I do with my clients is I start putting their money into silos because the e the each silo has a different purpose.

00:24:43.140 --> 00:24:44.580
But how much money do you need?

00:24:44.580 --> 00:24:49.940
So when I'm working with my clients and we'll talk about this, I never talk about a lump sum.

00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:52.900
It's what do we need year by year?

00:24:52.900 --> 00:24:59.540
So the first thing is, how much do you think you're going to need in retirement?

00:24:59.540 --> 00:25:03.060
And the answer is not, well, whatever my income was.

00:25:03.060 --> 00:25:08.660
Because when you're when you're income, you're likely saving a good portion of that.

00:25:08.660 --> 00:25:09.620
It's a good portion, right?

00:25:09.620 --> 00:25:10.580
Yeah.

00:25:10.580 --> 00:25:14.340
So we're no longer saving when we're in retirement.

00:25:14.340 --> 00:25:15.940
We are not actively saving.

00:25:15.940 --> 00:25:20.259
We may have extra money left over that we stick away, but we're not actively saving.

00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:23.540
So right there, that changes how much we need in retirement.

00:25:23.779 --> 00:25:24.420
Good point.

00:25:24.660 --> 00:25:26.660
Is your house going to be paid off by then?

00:25:26.660 --> 00:25:28.340
Are you going to get a second home, right?

00:25:28.340 --> 00:25:30.740
So could you have more housing expenses?

00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:32.340
All of this stuff.

00:25:32.340 --> 00:25:36.740
So, how much do we think we're going to need in retirement?

00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:40.580
And that's what we that's our that's that's the starting off point.

00:25:40.580 --> 00:25:46.259
Because how can I tell you how much you need if I don't even know how much you need until each year?

00:25:46.259 --> 00:25:47.140
Right.

00:25:47.140 --> 00:25:50.900
It depends where you live, how you're gonna live, what you're gonna do.

00:25:50.900 --> 00:25:51.779
Yes, absolutely.

00:25:51.779 --> 00:25:52.660
Exactly.

00:25:52.660 --> 00:25:53.700
Exactly.

00:25:53.700 --> 00:25:59.860
And then what you want to look at is anything guaranteed coming into you.

00:25:59.860 --> 00:26:07.540
So Social Security, for example, is yeah, yeah, is it a is it a mess of a program?

00:26:07.540 --> 00:26:11.779
It is, but it's still here and it's still giving money, right?

00:26:11.779 --> 00:26:15.779
Um, so how much are we going to get from Social Security?

00:26:15.779 --> 00:26:20.259
That then it is that then then goes to the need, the amount you need.

00:26:20.259 --> 00:26:24.500
So let's just say you need $100,000 a year in income.

00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:24.980
Okay.

00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:28.420
Now Social Security is giving us $60,000.

00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:32.420
That then leaves $40,000 as like the the gap.

00:26:32.660 --> 00:26:32.820
Right.

00:26:33.060 --> 00:26:40.019
So that's what, assuming there's no other pensions or annuities or anything like that, now there's a gap of $40,000.

00:26:40.019 --> 00:26:42.900
And that's where your savings comes in to supplement.

00:26:43.380 --> 00:26:43.779
Right.

00:26:43.779 --> 00:26:44.259
Okay.

00:26:44.500 --> 00:26:49.220
So some people could have a gigantic gap, some people could have a minuscule gap.

00:26:49.220 --> 00:26:58.420
It's funny, the the woman that asked me about the $3 million, she has Social Security, her pension, her husband's pension, and annuity.

00:26:58.420 --> 00:27:16.259
She has so much guaranteed income that I'm like, you don't even need to come close to, you know, having that $3 million number saved that they, you know, that you clicked on the article, because you have so many other guaranteed sources of income that your investments are a tiny role in it.

00:27:16.259 --> 00:27:16.580
Yeah.

00:27:16.580 --> 00:27:38.500
So that's why so that, so then if you, okay, so then if we really want to go and take, say, okay, it's 40,000 is my difference, and that's what I would need my investments, then you know, 40,000 times 25 years, 7% inflation, like, or if we want to look at that, yeah, then we can work backwards to a number of what you need.

00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:42.180
But sometimes that number would also do more harm than good.

00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:45.380
Um, it may be overwhelming or seem unrealistic.

00:27:45.380 --> 00:27:53.220
Um, so I like looking at it year by year and making sure that you have enough to cover you year by year in retirement.

00:27:53.540 --> 00:28:05.620
And to your point, if we can make sure that that money is still making money, then it's not as if we decide to retire and here is the one number, the amount that we have, and we better stretch it.

00:28:05.620 --> 00:28:06.500
It could grow.

00:28:08.420 --> 00:28:15.860
In in a perfect world, when my clients are making withdrawals, their investments are earning that right back.

00:28:15.860 --> 00:28:17.460
Like that's perfect.

00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:30.900
Like, if like that if that happens, like yes, that this was a great year for us because you're exactly where you started, even after taking all of these withdrawals all year.

00:28:31.140 --> 00:28:33.060
Yeah, yeah, that's a great point.

00:28:33.060 --> 00:28:38.500
It's it kind of relieves some of the stress, I feel like, thinking about all I'm gonna do is draw down my money now.

00:28:38.500 --> 00:28:39.140
Yeah.

00:28:39.140 --> 00:28:49.460
So another thing that I end up chatting with my friends about all the time that's sort of related to this, is we see people who decide to retire early.

00:28:49.460 --> 00:28:50.740
I'm doing air quotes.

00:28:50.740 --> 00:28:59.940
This could be any range of ages, but let's say, you know, 59, 60, 61, they're not getting their social security yet.

00:28:59.940 --> 00:29:03.940
And we're thinking, how in the world are they doing that?

00:29:03.940 --> 00:29:08.259
So I'm curious if you have any thoughts about that.

00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:16.660
I know you can't say how did that person do it, but these are not people, I don't think, who are, you know, million and billionaires.

00:29:16.660 --> 00:29:17.620
I don't know.

00:29:17.779 --> 00:29:18.900
It's interesting though.

00:29:18.900 --> 00:29:20.100
That is interesting.

00:29:20.100 --> 00:29:25.940
I mean, retirement is very different today than what it was even 10 years ago.

00:29:25.940 --> 00:29:33.380
Um, COVID has changed a lot of that, has changed that for us because now working virtually and and and all of that.

00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:39.620
Um, so retirement, I have clients that are retiring early, but they're doing something else.

00:29:39.620 --> 00:29:48.180
They're, you know, starting to work for themselves or even they're still working for the same employer but part-time to hold on to benefits or something like that.

00:29:48.180 --> 00:29:52.259
So I am seeing a lot of working still in retirement.

00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:57.140
It's more just like a life change than retiring, but we don't have any other good words for it.

00:29:57.140 --> 00:29:58.820
So we just call it retiring.

00:29:58.820 --> 00:30:11.779
But how could someone like so if you so like how could someone retire at, you know, in their late 50s, early 60s, not be on Social Security and it's still like work for them?

00:30:11.779 --> 00:30:18.180
So, you know, it could be that they are um that they do have some guaranteed sources of income coming into them.

00:30:18.180 --> 00:30:19.700
They do have a pension.

00:30:19.700 --> 00:30:22.420
Um, that that would be a big one.

00:30:22.420 --> 00:30:31.940
If they're younger than 59 and a half, they cannot access their retirement accounts at all without IRAs without the penalty, right?

00:30:31.940 --> 00:30:35.540
So that would lead me to believe that they're not using that money.

00:30:35.540 --> 00:30:37.300
I would hope they're not using that money.

00:30:37.300 --> 00:30:42.900
So that means that then they have a lot of that after tax money saved to bridge that gap.

00:30:43.140 --> 00:30:43.460
Okay.

00:30:43.860 --> 00:30:45.779
They could have their house paid off.

00:30:45.779 --> 00:30:50.259
Like that could have been their focus of we're just getting rid of the house payment.

00:30:50.259 --> 00:30:51.700
That's gonna be our focus.

00:30:51.700 --> 00:31:00.100
And so then we can lean live more leanly, more leaner, and and and not have the mortgage come retirement.

00:31:00.259 --> 00:31:00.580
Right.

00:31:00.740 --> 00:31:04.019
You know, no debt on the car, no, no car payments, no debt.

00:31:04.019 --> 00:31:08.180
When you don't have those big bills, you don't need as much money.

00:31:08.180 --> 00:31:16.500
Um so that I mean, just that those are kind of my initial thoughts when I hear scenarios like that.

00:31:16.500 --> 00:31:22.500
They they could have, you know, received an inheritance, their parents could have passed away, left them a little bit of money.

00:31:22.500 --> 00:31:32.180
Even if you're left money, retirement money as a beneficiary, a non-spouse beneficiary, if it's retirement money, you have to liquidate it within 10 years.

00:31:32.180 --> 00:31:32.740
Oh.

00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:33.620
Yeah.

00:31:33.620 --> 00:31:45.300
So for example, if if you were to receive $100,000 in in your mom's retirement account and she passes away, you have to have it down to zero after 10 years.

00:31:45.300 --> 00:31:55.540
The the guidelines aren't clear on do I take 10% a year or can I take as much as I the guidelines aren't really clear on that, but that could be another scenario.

00:31:55.540 --> 00:31:58.180
Like, well, I have to withdraw this money anyway.

00:31:58.180 --> 00:31:59.940
I have to pay the taxes.

00:31:59.940 --> 00:32:05.460
Uh, maybe, maybe I do retire and then maybe figure it out in 10 years or in a couple of years.

00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:09.460
But it gives this gives me the breathing room to be able to do something like that.

00:32:09.700 --> 00:32:10.740
Yeah, that's a good point.

00:32:10.740 --> 00:32:17.140
I mean, obviously not something that's happy and and good news, but certainly does happen regularly.

00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:17.620
Yeah.

00:32:17.620 --> 00:32:19.700
Interesting.

00:32:19.700 --> 00:32:34.580
Let's bring it back around to mindset for a second because you said something to me when we were chatting before about the fact that there's also a lot of mental shifts that we have to make when we're close to retirement, when we retire.

00:32:34.580 --> 00:32:41.380
And so I want to talk a little bit about that because right now at my age, I'm kind of like, wow, that would be amazing.

00:32:41.380 --> 00:32:43.300
But it's years ahead, right?

00:32:43.300 --> 00:32:45.060
So I don't really have to think about it.

00:32:45.060 --> 00:32:52.740
But what are some of those mental shifts that that will come about or that we need to maybe handle properly?

00:32:53.220 --> 00:33:02.980
Yeah, what I have come up with my clients when they retire or they're thinking about retiring is oh, this like this sounds good.

00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:04.019
I want to do it.

00:33:04.019 --> 00:33:09.060
But then when they really start thinking about it, they that's when they start to get cold feet.

00:33:09.060 --> 00:33:18.660
And it's not necessarily um that they don't want to, they really want to, but they realize like this has been my who I am for so many years.

00:33:18.660 --> 00:33:19.779
This is my identity.

00:33:19.779 --> 00:33:24.420
Maybe the kids are in college now or they're adults and they're doing their their own thing.

00:33:24.420 --> 00:33:26.259
So it's like, okay, I don't have that anymore.

00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:28.500
I have my job, or like you don't have kids.

00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:30.900
My so my job was my main focus.

00:33:30.900 --> 00:33:32.980
I mean, that was that was my identity.

00:33:32.980 --> 00:33:34.340
I haven't had that shift.

00:33:34.340 --> 00:33:36.100
So now I'm losing a big part of it.

00:33:36.100 --> 00:33:41.860
Some people are concerned about the routine or lack there of a routine of what am I gonna do every day.

00:33:41.860 --> 00:33:50.420
A lot of people are scared about just switching from someone paying you, especially if you were never really active in your finances.

00:33:50.420 --> 00:33:52.420
You never had to think about your paycheck.

00:33:52.420 --> 00:33:53.620
You just had to work to earn it.

00:33:53.620 --> 00:33:55.540
That's all the thinking you you did.

00:33:55.540 --> 00:33:57.620
And then it appeared, and that was great.

00:33:57.620 --> 00:34:03.300
Then you have to switch from wait, I now have to pay me versus someone else paying me.

00:34:03.300 --> 00:34:09.619
And that's really scary for a lot of women because we weren't that active in our finances to begin with.

00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:16.259
And now not only do I have to participate more in it, but now it's I'm responsible for it lasting for the rest of my life.

00:34:16.259 --> 00:34:17.380
And that's really scary.

00:34:17.380 --> 00:34:18.980
Oh, it's just easier if I work.

00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:21.860
I'll just keep on working and put that off.

00:34:21.860 --> 00:34:24.980
So I see that happen and some concerns.

00:34:24.980 --> 00:34:28.099
So there is a huge mindset shift.

00:34:28.099 --> 00:34:36.179
And just like it takes me five years, like I want my client to give me a five year heads up when they're preparing for retirement.

00:34:36.179 --> 00:34:39.300
You need to do the mental work as well.

00:34:39.300 --> 00:34:46.179
You know, we're only gonna enjoy it's you know, it's sleeping in till 11 o'clock is nice, but not for not every day, right?

00:34:46.179 --> 00:34:47.139
For the rest of our lives.

00:34:47.139 --> 00:34:49.940
So we're gonna enjoy it for a little bit, but then that's it.

00:34:49.940 --> 00:34:54.019
So, what can you do to make it easier for you?

00:34:54.019 --> 00:34:56.819
Finding out how are you gonna fill your days?

00:34:56.819 --> 00:34:58.980
So, what are the causes you like?

00:34:58.980 --> 00:35:00.899
What clubs are you going to join?

00:35:00.899 --> 00:35:16.500
My, I have a girlfriend and I, and we're like, we're gonna kill it in retirement because we're already doing the book clubs, the mahjong, like we volunteer every we're we're, you know, we're on the PTA, so we're gonna have to find a new PTA, or maybe we'll be like the grandmas on the PTA.

00:35:16.500 --> 00:35:18.579
I'm like, but we are going to kill it.

00:35:18.579 --> 00:35:21.699
Like, we know what we're gonna do in retirement.

00:35:21.940 --> 00:35:23.539
I do the mahjong as well.

00:35:23.699 --> 00:35:24.420
I knit.

00:35:24.420 --> 00:35:26.500
I'm like, I got all the stuff.

00:35:26.500 --> 00:35:28.099
Yes, yes.

00:35:28.099 --> 00:35:35.379
But you have to find things you're passionate about and things that you're gonna fill up your days with and gives you a purpose though, too.

00:35:35.379 --> 00:35:42.179
Um, gives you a purpose and and starting to get involved in that now instead of waiting until you're in retirement.

00:35:42.339 --> 00:35:46.659
Because then it's like it's it's like the first day of school, like all over again when you're in retirement.

00:35:46.659 --> 00:35:47.619
All right, I'm retired.

00:35:47.619 --> 00:35:50.899
Now I need to go make friends on top of it and do all of these things.

00:35:50.899 --> 00:35:54.659
So make the friends now, start doing that stuff now.

00:35:55.059 --> 00:36:02.179
Um and and if and if money is part of the concern, you know, really trying to understand it.

00:36:02.179 --> 00:36:06.659
And that doesn't mean understanding how it's invested and all of that stuff.

00:36:06.659 --> 00:36:13.059
Like I'm not talking like stocks, bonds, all of that, but knowing where it is, what is it doing?

00:36:13.059 --> 00:36:17.299
How is it is it how is it set up to achieve your goals?

00:36:17.299 --> 00:36:22.659
If you work with a financial advisor, like having those conversations with them.

00:36:22.659 --> 00:36:27.699
And if you're not getting from them that, find someone else.

00:36:27.699 --> 00:36:32.099
Like just because you meet one advisor means you only met one advisor.

00:36:32.099 --> 00:36:37.379
Like you could go to the advisor right next door and have a completely different experience.

00:36:37.379 --> 00:36:43.779
So if you're not getting what you need from if you have a financial professional that you're working with, find someone new.

00:36:43.779 --> 00:36:49.059
And I would then I would recommend if you're not working with anyone, you have these questions, you're like, I don't even know where to start.

00:36:49.059 --> 00:36:52.500
Find someone you like and just start having these conversations.

00:36:52.500 --> 00:36:56.659
And like they're not bad, they're they're they're not bad conversations.

00:36:56.659 --> 00:36:59.139
They're not bad questions, they're not silly questions.

00:36:59.139 --> 00:37:00.659
These are essential questions.

00:37:00.659 --> 00:37:08.339
So you should get those questions answered so you can move into this next phase with confidence.

00:37:08.579 --> 00:37:09.059
Yeah.

00:37:09.059 --> 00:37:25.059
And and I would add to that, even this is gonna seem like such a silly thing, but this is what my husband and I have been going through is where the pension information from the job from 10 years ago is because we qualified for a little bit.

00:37:25.059 --> 00:37:27.299
Like, how do we even log in?

00:37:27.299 --> 00:37:33.539
You know, the the login even is a thing for sure to work on.

00:37:33.940 --> 00:37:36.819
Because more and more companies are not sending paper.

00:37:36.819 --> 00:37:39.299
So you can't just wait for the paper statement.

00:37:39.299 --> 00:37:42.579
Oh, well, I'll find out where it is when I get the paper statement.

00:37:42.579 --> 00:37:45.059
More and more companies are not sending paper anymore.

00:37:45.059 --> 00:37:47.059
So then it's buried in an email.

00:37:47.059 --> 00:37:55.139
So definitely organizing, figuring out everything you have during that like five-year runway is super important.

00:37:55.619 --> 00:37:56.099
Yeah.

00:37:56.099 --> 00:38:11.059
And maybe that gives us uh from the mindset perspective, maybe it gives us a little bit of peace, knowing that okay, like I have this account and I have that account, and then there'll be social security.

00:38:11.059 --> 00:38:14.739
And okay, like let me take a breath and not panic.

00:38:14.739 --> 00:38:16.659
Hopefully that's the case anyway.

00:38:16.659 --> 00:38:17.219
Yeah.

00:38:17.460 --> 00:38:17.699
Yeah.

00:38:17.859 --> 00:38:18.259
Yeah.

00:38:18.500 --> 00:38:26.500
And you know, you unless for some you can't really mess you, we you it can get messed up, but you can't really mess it up that bad.

00:38:26.500 --> 00:38:33.299
Like, say you retire and you're like, oh, I'm concerned about the money or the money, it's it there's an issue.

00:38:33.299 --> 00:38:35.940
Like, there are ways to make money, right?

00:38:35.940 --> 00:38:38.500
And just it's and then it's just a lifestyle change.

00:38:38.500 --> 00:38:42.179
It's you're now working part-time, you're doing something part-time.

00:38:42.179 --> 00:38:52.739
Like, unless you're physically unable to work, like you can always go back to work and feel a little bit more confident, or maybe take a little bit of pressure off of your investments to fill in that gap.

00:38:52.739 --> 00:38:57.139
So nothing is really ever permanent when it comes to money.

00:38:57.139 --> 00:38:59.379
We can always fix it, make changes.

00:38:59.379 --> 00:39:01.059
It's not set in stone.

00:39:01.379 --> 00:39:02.099
Great point.

00:39:02.099 --> 00:39:08.739
I always joke that someday I'm gonna work at the bookstore that's near my house because I just think it would be awesome to work at a bookstore.

00:39:08.739 --> 00:39:11.619
So, yeah, you can do whatever you decide to do.

00:39:11.619 --> 00:39:12.579
Absolutely.

00:39:12.579 --> 00:39:13.699
I like that.

00:39:13.699 --> 00:39:19.059
That's maybe a good place to start to wrap up what we've been talking about.

00:39:19.059 --> 00:39:22.899
This has been so useful for me, so I know it will be for everybody listening.

00:39:22.899 --> 00:39:33.139
If they are wanting to find out more about what you do, tell tell us where we can find you, connect with you, tell us again about your podcast and all of that.

00:39:33.379 --> 00:39:33.859
Yep.

00:39:33.859 --> 00:39:37.940
Um, so my financial planning firm is called GWA Wealth.

00:39:37.940 --> 00:39:46.099
So you can go to GWAwealth.com to learn about how I work with my clients and my contact info and all of that good stuff there.

00:39:46.099 --> 00:39:50.659
My podcast is called Everyone's Talking Money, T-A-L-K-I-N.

00:39:50.659 --> 00:39:54.019
And there I put out two episodes a week.

00:39:54.019 --> 00:40:02.259
Some are solo, some are interview episodes, where we just try to get around the gunk of our money, the gunk and the junk.

00:40:02.259 --> 00:40:10.099
We're clearing it away because we need to have a healthy relationship with money in order to really feel confident.

00:40:10.099 --> 00:40:13.859
And it's so important for women to feel good about it.

00:40:13.859 --> 00:40:33.940
There was a survey that went out that, you know, there's a 94% chance that a woman is going to be the sole financial decision maker in her lifetime, whether it comes from never getting married, widowhood, uh so there's a very good chance it is all going to be on you one day.

00:40:33.940 --> 00:40:48.500
So When that moment comes, it's so much better to be somewhat prepared and have some knowledge versus going through the emotional turbulence of a life transition, a death of a spouse or partner, then having it all on you.

00:40:48.500 --> 00:40:51.379
So have some awareness now.

00:40:51.379 --> 00:40:56.420
And again, we're not trying to, you know, you don't need to watch CNBC and see what the futures are doing.

00:40:56.420 --> 00:41:00.099
I never want, I never want that for anyone because that's just way too boring.

00:41:00.099 --> 00:41:03.779
But having knowing a little bit about what's going on is super important.

00:41:03.779 --> 00:41:10.899
So everyone's talking money is is my podcast, and I have consistent, consistent new episodes there.

00:41:11.139 --> 00:41:19.699
And you know, circling back to what we were talking about at the beginning, I love that you are a woman and there is a woman's voice that we can listen to about money.

00:41:19.699 --> 00:41:20.899
That's excellent.

00:41:20.899 --> 00:41:21.460
Thank you.

00:41:21.460 --> 00:41:31.059
Okay, so my last question for you is let's say somebody's walk uh walking the dog, washing the dishes, doing the laundry while they're listening to this and they can't remember everything.

00:41:31.059 --> 00:41:36.579
What is the one thing that you really want somebody listening to take away from this?

00:41:36.980 --> 00:41:41.299
When under to understand how you feel about money.

00:41:41.299 --> 00:41:46.179
So if I were to say to you, when I say the word money, what comes to mind?

00:41:46.179 --> 00:41:53.539
And if it's like stress, gross, yuck, I don't like it, that just helps you to see where you're starting from.

00:41:53.539 --> 00:41:59.299
You're not wrong, it's your feeling, but that just see shows us where you are.

00:41:59.299 --> 00:42:02.179
So wherever you are, meet yourself there.

00:42:02.179 --> 00:42:04.579
Don't beat yourself up over anything.

00:42:04.579 --> 00:42:08.899
And then just take that and just be open, more open.

00:42:08.899 --> 00:42:09.940
I love that.

00:42:10.099 --> 00:42:20.019
It's so important, and there's often so much hidden stuff back in there that we are associating with money that it's nice if we can kind of clear out that rubbish.

00:42:20.019 --> 00:42:20.500
Yeah.

00:42:20.500 --> 00:42:21.219
Agreed.

00:42:21.219 --> 00:42:23.219
Well, Sherry, thank you so much for joining me.

00:42:23.219 --> 00:42:24.659
This has been a great conversation.

00:42:24.659 --> 00:42:25.379
Thank you.

00:42:25.379 --> 00:42:26.579
Thanks for having me.

00:42:26.579 --> 00:42:33.859
I wish I could claim that I told Sherry ahead of time, make sure that your one important thing has to do with mindset.

00:42:33.859 --> 00:42:38.259
But no, listener, I did not plant that in the audience.

00:42:38.259 --> 00:42:41.299
She said that because it's important.

00:42:41.299 --> 00:42:52.179
Your relationship with money, your mental and emotional relationship with money is powerful.

00:42:52.179 --> 00:43:01.299
So if she said that and you got like a cringe, as she pointed out, that doesn't make you a bad person.

00:43:01.299 --> 00:43:03.460
It doesn't mean anything judgy about you.

00:43:03.460 --> 00:43:07.059
It just means that that's your starting point.

00:43:07.059 --> 00:43:15.619
And maybe we can dive into where we can go from there to create a better association with money.

00:43:15.619 --> 00:43:21.619
And I will link a podcast episode about that in the show notes so that you can start there.

00:43:21.619 --> 00:43:28.019
There is also a book by Jen Sincero called You Are a Badass with Money that I would highly recommend.

00:43:28.019 --> 00:43:33.219
Lots of places that we can go to start changing that.

00:43:33.219 --> 00:43:35.460
And coaching is another thing.

00:43:35.460 --> 00:43:39.699
Go to Cherylpfisher.com/slash coaching, set up a call with me.

00:43:39.699 --> 00:43:44.259
We can talk about whether coaching would be helpful for you in that situation.

00:43:44.259 --> 00:43:52.739
Now, wherever you are listening to this episode, if you would tap the five stars for a rating, that would be amazing.

00:43:52.739 --> 00:43:57.379
It tells the podcast apps to share Mind Your Midlife with more people.

00:43:57.379 --> 00:44:04.739
And if you are listening on Apple, right there where you tap the five stars, you can also give a review.

00:44:04.739 --> 00:44:16.099
And believe it or not, you writing a sentence or two about what you think about this podcast is even more powerful in helping other people find MindYour Midlife.

00:44:16.099 --> 00:44:18.019
Thank you so much for doing that.

00:44:18.019 --> 00:44:25.379
And keep remembering, midlife is your time to take just a little bit better care of yourself.

00:44:25.379 --> 00:44:28.259
On the outside and the inside.

00:44:28.259 --> 00:44:32.420
Just a little bit more care makes a huge difference.
Shari Rash Profile Photo

Shari Rash

Financial Planner/Podcaster

Shari Rash is a nationally recognized financial advisor, money mindset expert, and the host of Everyone's Talkin' Money—named a Top 4 money podcast by The New York Times. She’s also the founder of GWA Wealth, a virtual advisory firm helping women navigate money with confidence, clarity, and zero shame.
With 18 years of experience and a no-nonsense style, Shari breaks down complex financial topics into real-life conversations that empower women to own their worth and build lasting wealth. She’s been named a 2024 Best Wealth Manager and Advisor Under 40 by InvestmentNews.
When she’s not talking money, she’s a mom of four, Goldendoodle wrangler, and unapologetic lover of Grandmillennial decor.