Financial Truths with David Wilson

Believe it or not, financial planning isn’t all about math and logic. There are times when it’s important to factor in how you feel about certain things. Today on the podcast we’re going to talk about some of the times where it’s OK to let your emotions and feelings enter the financial equation.

There are a surprising number of people out there who think there’s not a lot to retirement planning. They make regular contributions into their 401k, maybe they meet with an advisor once or twice. They think a little about social security. But when retirement comes around, they get sidelined by unexpected expenses. While it’s impossible to predict all the expenses that might take you by surprise during retirement, we can think ahead in some areas.

An early retirement sounds fantastic to most people. Who wouldn’t want to kick off the extra travel, less stress and more freedom that retirement can often bring a little earlier than planned? However, a lot of people don’t realize the additional complications presented when you retire early. Today on the podcast we’re going to tackle what early retirement means for most people and how you can put together a realistic plan to execute it if it’s the right decision for you.

When you ask people what retirement planning is they will inevitably say investing. There’s a lot more to retirement planning than just picking investments, however. In fact, many of the basics of good retirement planning have nothing to do with investing at all.

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan recently stated that he thinks the economy is "out of whack" and headed for a downturn. We'll see if David agrees and get his thoughts on some of the other elements of the financial world that could impact the economy going through the rest of the year.

They say these days that there’s a holiday of every day of the year. It’s kind of true. Some examples of holidays we've already celebrated this year: Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, Fresh Florida Tomato Month, Fresh Celery Month, Multiple Birth Awareness Month and National Soft Pretzel Month (sorry hard pretzels, you guys have to wait until the overall National Pretzel Month in October). What does all this have to with finances? Well, we also recently had National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, which gave us the idea to discuss some of things that distract us financially. And since every single other thing in existence gets a holiday, we’ll make up our own to discuss on this week’s podcast. It’s National Distracted Investor Awareness Month. We’ll reveal the distractions that often peel our attention away from being good investors and savers and give you tips on how to stay on track.

Have you ever seen the show Mythbusters? The show never covered financial myths (probably because then they wouldn't have a reason to blow things up), but there are plenty of myths about investment planning that are in dire need of busting. On this episode of Financial Truths, David will put on his myth busting cap, to help clear the air of some misinformation you might be hearing about financial planning.

QDROs are a financial concept that you won't usually hear a lot of talk about. David will detail how important they can be. He will answer questions like: What is a QDRO? Who needs one? How long does it take to process a QDRO?

It's easy to get confused and think that you are diversified when you actually are not. David gives some tips on spotting a truly diversified portfolio and how to properly allocate assets in order to minimize risk.

David Wilson walks us through the four most important estate planning mistakes you need to avoid. He often is able to spot common trustee problems within a family and times when beneficiary designations are out of whack. Sometimes people make the mistake of making their trust the primary beneficiary of their 401k or IRA. Plus, don't just give your stock or real estate without a proper plan. David will share a story with us where he saw that mistake cost someone thousands and thousands of dollars and it could have all been avoided with a proper plan. The time to start preparing your estate plan is now, so don't wait to listen to this week's podcast.

We all know that having an individual retirement plan is important. If you're a small business owner, however, you might not realize that there are some specific benefits that apply to you. In a lot of cases, these kinds of plans that are available can make an enormous impact on your retirement readiness. David Wilson will walk us through SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and SOLO 401ks and give us some important questions to think about.

Welcome to the inaugural Financial Truths podcast with David Wilson, Certified Financial Planner. In this first episode, we'll learn a little bit more about David, what's behind his company's recent name change and why he's starting this new podcasting venture.