Your Retirement Elevated Podcast with Scott Dougan

Over the course of two decades, Scott has developed a comprehensive 5-step plan for retirement. Listen to today's show to see if you have included these steps and why they are needed in a thorough retirement plan.
Click here to get the PDF for the 5-Step Complete Planning Process

“Financial Security” might mean different things to different people, but for nearly everyone, making sure that they achieve their own definition of security is the most important part of their retirement plan. So, how do you define financial security? On today’s show, we’ll cover some of the popular responses we hear from clients during the planning process.

When it comes to investing and planning for retirement, everyone is affected by a handful of different biases that influence how they make decisions. And oftentimes, these biases can get us into quite a bit of trouble if we're not careful. So let's learn how to spot these biases and gain an overall healthier financial mindset.

With all of the technology available at our fingertips on a daily basis, the world's seven billion people are as connected as they've ever been. But is that always a good thing? In this episode, Scott gives us some perspective on how the media can influence the way we perceive the world and how that skews the reality of life.
 

Congress is in the middle of passing the SECURE Act (passed in the House, waiting on the Senate). The bill brings a lot of positive changes for those of us planning for retirement, but it also threatens the elimination of an important and well-used planning strategy, the Stretch IRA. Scott will break down this bill for us and talk about how it might impact our financial plans going forward.

Part of discovering a financial advisor's true value and role in your life is coming to grips with the things they can and cannot actually do for you. Advisors aren't superheroes, so there will be some things you can't reasonably expect them to be able to do. Let's chat about some of these expectations and see how it all might impact your own financial situation.

This might seem like a surprising headline on this show, but it's true. For some, working with a financial advisor makes a lot of sense. But for many, it does not. Let's cover the reasons and see where you might fit.

Lots of topics on tap this week. We'll take a look into the effects of the recent tax reform on your tax return this year, as well as future tax planning. We'll get Scott's thoughts on the current housing market, as well as bitcoin and other hyped stocks. And later, we'll answer questions from the mailbag about rolling over a 401(k) and market crash anticipation.

You only get one chance at retirement, so how can you make sure you're set up for the best possible future, and also getting the most out of this new era in your life? Scott sets the financial talk aside today and takes a candid look into what the real return on your retirement should be.

When it comes to financial planning, everybody has some kind of pain point. Those pain points are different for each person, but everyone has something that bothers them. Let's talk about how Scott has helped his clients through these common pain points.