One Minute Retirement Tip with Ashley

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I'm your host, Ashley Micciche. This week on the podcast, it's a first! I have my husband on the podcast to talk about the top 5 money issues that can break a marriage. 

It's Sunday and I'm wrapping up the week by summarizing this week's theme: Mid-Year Markets & Economic Update In case you missed any episodes this week, here's the recap…

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, we're recapping the economic and market conditions that are impacting you and your retirement nest egg this year.  Today, I'm bringing it all home to talk about what does the current economic and market environment mean for you.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, we're recapping the economic and market conditions that are impacting you and your retirement nest egg this year.  Today, I'm talking about the mixed signals in markets and the economy.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, we're recapping the economic and market conditions that are impacting you and your retirement nest egg this year.  Today, I'm getting out my very dim crystal ball and looking ahead to the rest of the year. Aside from some completely unexpected and big outside shock, 2025 is the year of tariffs. That's the driver for the economy and the stock market. It's almost as if nothing else matters.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, we're recapping the economic and market conditions that are impacting you and your retirement nest egg this year.  Today, we're looking at the state of the US economy, which in turn always drives stock and bond markets, and your portfolio.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm discussing the mid-year markets and economic update. What happened in the stock and bond markets, and the economy so far this year and how that's impacting you and your plans for retirement.  Today, I'm recapping the 1st have of 2025 as it pertains to the markets.

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I'm your host, Ashley Micciche. This week on the podcast, I'm doing what I always do at the beginning of a new quarter - commentary on the state of the stock and bond markets, the economy, my outlook, and how investors should consider positioning their investment portfolios in light of the current conditions. 

It's Sunday and I'm wrapping up the week by summarizing this week's theme: Summer Hiatus & Giveaways In case you missed any episodes this week, here's the recap…

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm sharing with you several resources that I use with my own clients when marking important decisions and planning for their retirement.  Today's free resource is my Top 10 retirement checklist  What are the top 10 things you need to check off your to-do list in retirement? As if you need one more to do list, right?! Except this one is really important!  Way more important that cleaning your downstairs bathroom or organizing the monstrous pile in your laundry room - both of which may or may not be on my personal to do list… The top 10 retirement check list will help you focus your energies on accomplishing the most important things in the last 1-3 years before retirement. You could do 100 different things to plan and prepare for retirement. This checklist focuses your energy and time on the most impactful to-dos to help make your transition into retirement as seamless and successful as possible.  Get your copy of my top 10 checklist at: www.truenorthra.com/top10

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm sharing with you several resources that I use with my own clients when marking important decisions and planning for their retirement.  Today's free resource is my retirement budget worksheet. Did you know that spending in retirement tends to drop by 20-40% compared to your pre-retirement spending, so your expenses may increase in some areas and decrease in others.  But which areas will go down, which spending categories will stay the same, and where might you spend more money in retirement?  That's why I created a retirement budget worksheet to help you track your current expenses and estimate how those expenses will change in retirement.  Staying within a spending target in retirement is one of the most important ways to ensure you don't outlive your retirement savings, and running the numbers to see how much you'll spend, then making sure you have the assets and income to support that spending, is critical before you make the leap into retirement.   To get your free retirement budget worksheet, just go to www.truenorthra.com/budget   

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm sharing with you several resources that I use with my own clients when marking important decisions and planning for their retirement.  Today's free resource is my financial inventory list.  In my opinion, this is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your loved ones - take an inventory of all of your bank accounts, investment accounts, insurance policies - all in one place. Think of it as a table of contents for your finances.  An unlike organizing your garage which can be overwhelming and likely to never get done, all it takes to get organized with your finances all in one place is to fill out this inventory list. You'll use the inventory list to list your accounts, the type, the dollar amount, and the financial institution where they are held. That way if you die or become incapacitated tomorrow, your spouse, your children, or your executor will have your complete list of assets right at their fingertips. No digging through 30 year old bankers boxes to go through the process of claiming money through the state. The financial inventory also has a section to put your trusted contacts - your attorney, tax advisor, financial advisor. These trusted contacts become so valuable in the days and weeks following a death or incapacitation, and it's important that your spouse or executor knows exactly who to contact. And even if you're not using it for estate purposes, it's just really helpful to have your financial accounts all listed on one page. Then, all you need to do is make updates when you add, remote, or transfer an account, and review it annually.  Easy peasy. It's one of those great projects thats low time investment for a big reward - clarity, organization, and peace of mind.  To get your free financial inventory worksheet, just go to www.truenorthra.com/inventory

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm sharing with you several resources that I use with my own clients when marking important decisions and planning for their retirement.  Today's free resource is my asset allocation cheat sheet.  This is the most popular free tool I've offered on the podcast, and for good reason. It's a one-page guide to selecting the right mix of stocks and bonds based on your age.  I'm a big believer in asset allocation as the foundation of every client's portfolio. It's always where I start with clients when determining how we should invest. In it's most basic form, asset allocation is the mix of stocks and bonds in your portfolio, and age is the most important determinant of what your asset allocation should be. If you would like to get my age-based asset allocation cheat sheet that helps you determine the right mix of stocks and bonds for your age, go to: www.truenorthra.com/allocation

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm sharing with you several resources that I use with my own clients when marking important decisions and planning for their retirement.  Today's free resource is my net worth worksheet. Unless you obsessively check your bank and investment accounts 5 times a day, it may not be intuitive why you need to know and track your net worth over time.  But knowing your net worth matters. Tracking your net worth over time is critical to reaching your financial goals, understanding your liquidity, and making smarter decisions with your money… For your free personal net worth worksheet, go to: www.truenorthra.com/networth A special bonus - if you complete your net worth worksheet and send it back to me, I'll send you a personalized analysis, complete with fancy pie charts to help you see what's working, as well as potential imbalances and red flags, along with my comments.  This is only for the first 10 people who send back their net worth statement, so be sure to download it at truenorthra.com/networth, then complete it and email it back to me at ashleym@truenorthra.com

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I'm your host, Ashley Micciche. This week on the podcast, I'm taking a little break to enjoy the sunshine and near-perfect weather this time of year in Oregon. So while I'm taking the week off, I have a few resources to share with you to help you retire with confidence.  I'll share with you my net worth worksheet, asset allocation guide, retirement budget worksheet, financial inventory list, and my top 10 must do pre-retirement checklist. These are my favorite resources, and they're also free, so I'll show you how to access them in each episode this week. 

It's Sunday and I'm wrapping up the week by summarizing this week's theme: The Smart Shopper's Guide to Grocery Savings, an interview I had with my good friend, Karrie. If you're enjoying the podcast, Subscribe & follow so you never miss an episode Leave a review—your feedback helps me improve the podcast and helps new listeners find the show Share the podcast with a friend or family member who's getting close to retirement.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm interviewing my good friend and mom of 9, Karrie on her tips and tricks for saving money on groceries.  Here is today's interview segment with Karrie…

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm interviewing my good friend and mom of 9, Karrie on her tips and tricks for saving money on groceries.  Here is today's interview segment with Karrie…

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm interviewing my good friend and mom of 9, Karrie on her tips and tricks for saving money on groceries.  Here is today's interview segment with Karrie…

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm interviewing my good friend and mom of 9, Karrie on her tips and tricks for saving money on groceries.  Here is today's interview segment with Karrie…

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm interviewing my good friend and mom of 9, Karrie on her tips and tricks for saving money on groceries.  Here is today's interview segment with Karrie…

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I'm your host, Ashley Micciche. I'm a financial advisor and co-owner of True North Retirement Advisors, a fee-only fiduciary financial advisory practice managing over $425M in assets.  For 17 years, I've helped clients retire with confidence, and my goal on this podcast is to simplify the complexities of retirement planning so you can focus on what truly matters—enjoying your retirement years while maintaining financial security. One of the biggest spending categories for most Americans is food. Even wealthier Americans will still spend a lot of money on food - eating out more, buying higher quality foods, entertaining, and shopping at places like Whole Paycheck (er, whole foods).  Retirees spend about $7500 a year on groceries and eating out on average, and because food costs matter in your budget, I wanted to focus on that in this week's episodes. And I can think of no better person to discuss this topic with than my good friend, Karrie.  I first met Karrie about 5 years ago, shortly after her family moved to my town and started attending the same church we go to. OVer that time, we've become good friends. She also babysits my little ones a couple days a week, and we share a lot of the same views on things and have a similar sense of humor. At the moment, I'm working on arranging a marriage between their youngest and my 4 year-old, Theodore. I've offered their daughter a paid-for wedding, if only she agrees to marry my little man.  As the chief grocery shopper for her family of 11 - her and her husband have 9 kids, ages 20 to 4 - Karrie has learned a lot about saving money on food over the years.

It's Sunday and I'm wrapping up the week by summarizing this week's theme: How To Get Over Your Guilt About Spending Money in Retirement In case you missed any episodes this week, here's the recap…

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm sharing with you my thoughts and ideas about how to get over your guilt about spending money in retirement.  Today, I'm talking about how getting over your guilt often requires an attitude adjustment.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm sharing with you my thoughts and ideas about how to get over your guilt about spending money in retirement.  Today, I'm talking about how you can prove to yourself that it's ok to take withdrawals from your investments in retirement, to help combat your guilt.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm sharing with you my thoughts and ideas about how to get over your guilt about spending money in retirement.  Today, I'm talking about putting your investment withdrawals on auto-pilot to help combat your guilt.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm sharing with you my thoughts and ideas about how to get over your guilt about spending money in retirement.  Today, I'm going to share with you the simplest strategy of getting over your guilt: as the rolling stones would say: Time is on your side, yes it is!

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm sharing with you my thoughts and ideas about how to get over your guilt about spending money in retirement.  Today, let's talk about how to NOT enjoy your retirement years!

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I'm your host, Ashley Micciche. This week, I'll share with you how you can get over your guilt about spending money in retirement. 

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I'm your host, Ashley Micciche. On the podcast this week, I'm going to do something quite different.  My father-in-law, Doug Micciche, passed away on May 22nd, after a very brief battle with cancer. I first met Doug when I was 16 years old, and for the last 24 years that I've known him, he's been a confidant and someone I love and miss deeply.  Doug was also a financial advisor in our advisory practice, and over the years, I learned from him - not just personally, but professionally as well. So I wanted to take this opportunity to share a few things about Doug - the kind of man he was, the way he inspired me, and the things he taught me.  To do that, I think we'll start at the beginning. I don't remember the first time I met Doug, but my husband and I started dating in high school, so I'm sure 16 year old me walked into his house acting like I owned the place.  Because my husband and I were high school sweethearts, I spent a lot of time at his parent's house, countless hours in the family room watching TV and movies with Doug. He and I both shared a mutual love for bad 90s action movies. By the time my husband moved out of his parent's home, I had already spent more quality time with Doug than most daughter-in-laws get to spend with their father-in-law in a lifetime, and for that I am grateful. One of my favorite pastimes was needling Doug, which was a tradition that continued until the end. Back in the early days, I would plop down on their couch so aggressively, I might as well have been working on my high jump, using the couch to break my fall. I would immediately look over at Doug with a sly smile, waiting for the inevitable sigh or eye roll. Eventually, after thousands of forceful couch plops, the spring broke in the exact spot where I would always sit…I still maintain I had nothing to do with that janky couch spring.  Their house had hardwood flooring on the stairs, and like a 7 year old boy, I would fly down the stairs. The pounding reverberation on the stairs irritated him to no end, so whenever I would run down the stairs he would always yell: “stampede!!” I took that as an invitation to pound my heels as loud as possible whenever I came down the stairs, just to see if I could get a stampede yell out of him. Doug was a great listener, and I often went to him when I had a problem or needed some advice. He was always honest and a no-BS guy. He was great at telling me what I needed to hear, even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear. I could trust his advice, knowing that he always had my best intentions at heart. There was no duplicity in Doug, and I very much appreciated that about him.  Doug was one of the most selfless people I know. Anything you asked him to do, he would do it, and whether he wanted to do it or not, you really had no idea, because he cheerfully devoted himself to other people and their needs. He would give me rides to and from the airport - often picking me up in the pre-dawn hours for the early flights I habitually booked. He always joyfully helped out with school pickups for my kids, and this past year, he picked up my 4 year old, Theodore, from preschool twice a week, always first in line because he was also ridiculously and annoyingly early for EVERYTHING. He and Theoore had their routine - he would bring him some gummi worms that Theodore quickly came to expect.  Doug was so deeply authentic, genuinely interested in other people, and kind down to his core, that he made friends wherever he went. He wasn't super extraverted, but he could relate to anyone, and making new friends was a superpower he had. He made friends with parents at my kids sports games, with other grandparents at school pickup, and most stunning of all - he made friends and stayed in contact with a guy he sold a car to - a chance encounter that turned into a friendship, and they stayed in touch for many years after.  Doug valued simplicity and he was content to spend his days at home, and as his wife Becky wrote in his obituary - “His pleasures were simple: daily exercise, command of the TV remote and a Friday night pizza, an enjoyable book and a nice slice of pie or cake. He was uncompromising when it came to his faith, to keeping his home and yard well-tended and his cars impeccable.” What I admire most about Doug was his enduring faith. He was Catholic, and attended Sunday Mass every week. He watched daily Mass on the TV livestream nearly every day.  He prayed and read the bible often, and like most men, was quite private about his spiritual life. But I caught glimpses of it often - a spiritual book he was reading, a text from him before a doctor's appointment or during a hardship to let me know he was praying for me. He did this often with me, but I found out after he passed that he did this with many other people too. After my dad had a health issue earlier this year, Doug texted to tell me that he dedicated his rosary that day to my father and his healing.  Doug was diagnosed with cancer on April 17th, and passed away barely a month later on May 22nd. His decline was so rapid and unexpected. We were all stunned by his initial prognosis of 1-2 years, even with chemo treatment. At that time, the doctors didn't know how advanced his cancer was, but the oncologist commented on his cheerfulness and energy, despite being so sick. He accepted his fate with grace and even humor on occasion.  At the end, I took great comfort and hope in the fact that Doug received all the sacraments - he went to confession and received last rites, which is very important in the Catholic faith.  In his last days of hospice care at home, they moved his hospital bed next to their queen bed in the bedroom, so Becky could lay comfortably with him, always at his side. I spent a few hours laying there with him too, praying for him and occasionally talking to him to let him know that I was there and that I loved him.  Our pastor visited him twice in the last days of his life, and I was there for the last time he visited, a little over a day before he passed. As part of the blessing and prayers for the dying, the priest read the text from Revelation, chapter 21: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away. The one who sat on the throne* said, “Behold, I make all things new.”  Looking at Doug lying there, so weakened and close to death, yet so peaceful, those words captivated me…Behold, I make all things new.  He is at peace now, and I have great hope that he is looking down on us from heaven. No more death. No more pain. No more mourning. Only everlasting happiness and joy with God in heaven, because He makes all things new.  I know I can still count on Doug as a confidant, and ask him to continue to pray for me… I just need to look for more subtle signs of his advice and guidance, not the straightforward, blunt, telling-it-like-it-is advice that I'm used to from him.  Doug's funeral will be on Wednesday, June 25th, and if you're so inclined, I ask for your prayers for Doug, our family, and all those who love and miss him.  His wife, Becky, needs your prayers the most. She was married to Doug for over 40 years, and this is a great loss and a great burden for her to carry right now.  I want to close with an excerpt from a letter from my husband to his dad. My husband, Troy, wrote this letter and shared it with Doug the day his diagnosis changed from 1-2 years to 1-2 months. It turned out that Doug only had about a week left with us, and he heard this letter from his son only a couple days before the cancer took away his ability to comprehend what Troy said in his letter. Timing is a funny thing. If my husband had put off writing this letter and sharing it with his dad by just a day or two, it would have been too late. But he said all the things he wanted to say to his father just in time.  Troy wrote: “Fatherhood, faith, and my marital life. These are the priorities, and you helped instill them in me…You more than did the job that the Lord asked you to do, and you did it well. I am forever grateful.” We are all grateful to have known and loved you, Doug.  I hope you have a blessed week. My name is Ashley Micciche...and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.

It's Sunday and I'm wrapping up the week by summarizing this week's theme: America's $36 Trillion Tab - Understanding how The U.S. National Debt Impacts You Everyone's favorite topic - the crushing US national debt - yay!  In case you missed any episodes this week, here's the recap

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about America's $36 Trillion Tab on the national debt and what that means for you.  Today, I'm talking about how you can prepare and protect yourself from the US National debt's doom loop.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about America's $36 Trillion Tab on the national debt and what that means for you.  A very smart investor told me recently that the national debt will begin to decline when the growth rate of the economy outpaces the growth rate on the debt.  Ok, so then one could conclude that we just need more robust economic growth to get out of this debt doom loop we seem to be headed for. 

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about America's $36 Trillion Tab on the national debt and what that means for you.  Today, I'm talking about the ugly tradeoffs for reducing the national debt and how each of those options, and likely some combination of all 3 could impact you.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about America's $36 Trillion Tab on the national debt and what that means for you.  Today, I'm talking about why the US national debt is problematic.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about America's $36 Trillion Tab on the national debt and how it impacts you - what does that mean for your social security & medicare benefits, inflation, taxes, the value of your investments, etc. The unfortunate truth is that the growing debt problem potentially has a big impact on all of these aspects of your life.  Before we go any further, we first need to clarify what the US National Debt is…

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I'm your host, Ashley Micciche. I'm a financial advisor and co-owner of True North Retirement Advisors, a fee-only fiduciary financial advisory practice managing over $425M in assets.  For 17 years, I've helped clients retire with confidence, and my goal on this podcast is to simplify the complexities of retirement planning so you can focus on what truly matters—enjoying your retirement years while maintaining financial security. I remember having concerns about the US national debt and having conversations with clients about this back in 2011. That's what I'll talk about this week. Because the US national debt isn't like you or I having debt. It's quite different. If we don't have enough income to pay our debts like the US government, then we don't have money trees. The US government has their own personal money tree, and that can work, up to a point. 

It's Sunday and I'm wrapping up the week by summarizing this week's theme: Right Accounts in the Right Order - Prioritizing Your Savings as a Pre-Retiree in 2025 In case you missed any episodes this week, heres how I recommend prioritizing savings especially as you approach retirement:

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about savings optimization. How should you prioritize your savings in 2025, saving the right accounts in the right order to get to better financial stability and long-term flexibility.  If you haven't been listening to each episode in order this week, I suggest going back because each episode is like a step on a ladder. You can't skip a step, and it's important to get the right priorities.  Once everything else is taken care of, then last step on the ladder is what to do with additional money you have left to save.  You're emergency fund and cash savings are where they should be. You're saving in your 401k and you're on track for where you need to be at this age for retirement, you have no debts other than your mortgage, and you don't have any other big goals like saving for kids college or a remodel project, or a big vacation coming up that you need to earmark some savings for. You're in a great spot financially, so what's next? At this point it all comes down to personal preference.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about savings optimization. How should you prioritize your savings in 2025, saving the right accounts in the right order to get to better financial stability and long-term flexibility.  We've talked about having enough cash on hand, then 401k contributions,then knocking out your non-mortgage debt.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about savings optimization. How should you prioritize your savings in 2025, saving the right accounts in the right order to get to better financial stability and long-term flexibility.  Today, I'm talking about paying off debt.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about savings optimization. How should you prioritize your savings in 2025, saving the right accounts in the right order to get to better financial stability and long-term flexibility.  Today, once you have enough cash on hand for emergencies, big expenses, and if you're close to retirement, that extra cushion for pausing portfolio withdrawals in a downturn, we can move on to longer term goals, like saving for retirement.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about savings optimization. How should you prioritize your savings in 2025, saving the right accounts in the right order to get to better financial stability and long-term flexibility.  Today, I'm talking about the importance of liquidity and building an emergency fund that's adequate for most of what life will throw at you. 

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I'm your host, Ashley Micciche. I'm a financial advisor and co-owner of True North Retirement Advisors, a fee-only fiduciary financial advisory practice managing over $425M in assets.  For 17 years, I've helped clients retire with confidence, and my goal on this podcast is to simplify the complexities of retirement planning so you can focus on what truly matters—enjoying your retirement years while maintaining financial security. So this week, I'll break down each step in the savings optimization ladder…what to focus on first, and what you should focus on next as you check each box and move up the ladder. If you pay attention to the right savings amounts in the right order in the right accounts, you'll be better off than most Americans and be more flexible with your finances, and set yourself up for more long-term financial stability. 

It's Sunday and I'm wrapping up the week by summarizing this week's theme: The American Dream Now Costs Over $4 Million

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about the American Dream. According to a 2024 report from Investopedia, the American dream now costs $4.4 million.  Today, we're discussing what the American costs when it comes to vacations

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about the American Dream. According to a 2024 report from Investopedia, the American dream now costs $4.4 million.  Today, we're discussing what the American costs when it comes to houses and cars

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about the American Dream. According to a 2024 report from Investopedia, the American dream now costs $4.4 million.  Today, we're discussing what the American costs when it comes to raising kids and pets

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about the American Dream. According to a 2024 report from Investopedia, the American dream now costs $4.4 million.  Today, we're discussing what the American costs when it comes to your retirement

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm talking about the American Dream. According to a 2024 report from Investopedia, the American dream now costs $4.4 million.  Today, we're discussing what the American costs when it comes to weddings and funerals.

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I'm your host, Ashley Micciche. Back in March, I came across a 2024 report from Investopedia that looked at all the things that define the American Dream - getting married, buying a house with that white picket fence, having kids, driving a nice, reliable car, owning pets, taking an annual vacation, saving enough for a comfortable retirement,and having a funeral where they don't throw your body in a pine box (unless you're into that minimal aesthetic).  What does it all cost to live the American Dream over your lifetime? $4.4 million. Can you live a fulfilling life with less? Absolutely! But I think exploring these areas together is a helpful exercise to see how your attitudes and beliefs on spending money compare to what the average American says are what they want to achieve in life.  So this week, I'll break down each of these categories of “livin the dream”, explain how Investopedia came up with their numbers and see how that compares with your own personal definition of the American dream. Come on back tomorrow…where I'm starting at the beginning and the end. We'll talk about wedding and funeral costs.