Sound Retirement Radio

If you're feeling stressed about what's happening in the market right now—you're not alone. Market volatility never feels good, but there is a better way to invest: one grounded in planning, discipline, and long-term thinking. In today’s episode, I’ll share 8 important things to consider as you navigate this market, so you can make confident decisions and stay focused on what truly matters. Learn more at https://soundretirementplanning.com/

I recently came across a fascinating paper by Hendrik Bessembinder titled “Which U.S. Stocks Generated the Highest Long-Term Returns?” The research is based on nearly 100 years of stock market history, and it delivers some surprising and important lessons for retirees.  

When markets get wobbly, people panic. It’s natural. We’ve all seen it—headlines screaming recession, market crashes, and doomsday predictions. The fear can be overwhelming. But what if I told you that you could structure your retirement investments in a way that makes all of this noise irrelevant? That’s what today’s episode is about—building Margins of Safety so you can worry less and live more.

I’m so glad you’re joining me for episode 449, where I have the privilege of interviewing Eduardo Repetto, Chief Investment Officer at Avantis. In today’s episode, we dive into recent market volatility, Warren Buffett’s growing cash reserves, and the investment philosophy behind Avantis Investors. To find links and resources mentioned in today's podcast, visit SoundRetirementPlanning.com and click on episode #449. I created the Retirement Budget Calculator as a tool to help people build a solid retirement plan. Rather than making the tool exclusive to our clients, I decided to make it available to everyone because I believe all Americans deserve a well-thought-out retirement plan. Once you have a retirement plan, the next step is developing an investment strategy that aligns with your goals. That’s where Parker Financial comes in—we help clients implement an investment strategy. To help you understand our approach, I’ve just finished creating a new ebook that explains our investment philosophy. You can downlo

In 2019, two pastors from my church approached me with a request: would I be willing to create a foundation or endowment to raise money for the Christian school our church operates? Without hesitation, I said yes. Both of my children had attended the school, and it had a profound impact on our family. While I had experience serving on nonprofit boards, I had never started a nonprofit from scratch. This was entirely new territory. I spent the first year immersed in research—consulting legal experts, meeting with our church’s board of elders, and speaking with leaders from other schools that had established foundations. Then, in October 2020, I was introduced to Ross Hjelseth. Ross had served as the head of schools at Life Christian Academy in Tacoma, WA, where he helped establish their foundation. His coaching and consulting played a crucial role in helping us navigate the process and make meaningful progress. Having gone through this experience—and after receiving multiple inquiries from others looking to do

Imagine you could give to charity, lower your tax bill, and satisfy your Required Minimum Distributions—all at the same time. Most retirees don’t realize that there’s a smarter way to donate to charity using their IRA. In today’s episode, I’ll show you how one simple strategy—Qualified Charitable Distributions—can save you thousands in taxes while supporting the causes you care about. To find links and resources mentioned in today's podcast, visit SoundRetirementPlanning.com and click on episode #447. The Retirement Budget Calculator is an intuitive tool that promises ease and accuracy. However, like any tool, user error could potentially lead to costly mistakes. To avoid this, let the experienced advisors at Parker Financial LLC guide you. When you hire our team, we offer a comprehensive review of your current investments, taxes, and the data in the Retirement Budget Calculator. We will ensure your plan's completeness and accuracy, helping you create an investment strategy, assist with tax planning, and moni

Big changes are on the horizon for retirees impacted by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on January 5, 2025, is expected to increase benefits for millions of retirees while introducing new challenges for the Social Security system. In todays podcast, I will break down what this means for you and how to adapt your retirement strategy to these changes. Plus, be sure to listen to the end to learn about our new updates to the Retirement Budget Calculator that help you stress-test your Social Security strategy. To find links and resources mentioned in today's podcast, visit SoundRetirementPlanning.com and click on episode #443.. The Retirement Budget Calculator is an intuitive tool that promises ease and accuracy. However, like any tool, user error could potentially lead to costly mistakes. To avoid this, let the experienced advisors at Parker Financial LLC guide you. When you hire our team, we offer a comprehensive revi

In todays podcast I am going to examine how the S&P500 historically has performed after back to back years of 20% plus gains. We are going to look at an interesting recent story about retirement, wealth and contentment. I am going to share a couple of good financial habbits for you to consider as you kick off the new year. I want to share with you a few milestones we accomplished this year and I will give you the top episode downloads for Sound Retirment Radio for 2024. And finally I want to share with you what my crystal ball is showing regarding investing as we kick off 2025. To find links and resources mentioned in today's podcast, visit SoundRetirementPlanning.com and click on episode #445.. The Retirement Budget Calculator is an intuitive tool that promises ease and accuracy. However, like any tool, user error could potentially lead to costly mistakes. To avoid this, let the experienced advisors at Parker Financial LLC guide you. When you hire our team, we offer a comprehensive review of your current

In today’s podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jann Freed, an expert in helping people live intentionally and reflect on their impact. Dr. Freed shared powerful insights on building meaningful relationships in the second half of life and explained how embracing the reality of our mortality can inspire us to live more fully. Her words reminded me of something my mentor used to tell me: “Jason, life is not a dress rehearsal. This is the real deal, baby. You get one shot—so give it everything you’ve got.” This conversation is a valuable reminder to approach life with purpose, passion, and a commitment to making every moment count. To find links and resources mentioned in today's podcast, visit SoundRetirementPlanning.com and click on episode #444.      

In today’s podcast, I’ll be discussing retirement investing and the importance of broad global diversification. I’ll explain the reasoning behind our approach and share a few of the strategies we use to help minimize risks. Some of the core ideas I want to share with you are recency bias, home country bias, the concentration of the S&P 500, why price matters, global market capitilazation and Vanguard forecast for the next 10 years. To find links and resources mentioned in today's podcast, visit SoundRetirementPlanning.com and click on episode #443.. The Retirement Budget Calculator is an intuitive tool that promises ease and accuracy. However, like any tool, user error could potentially lead to costly mistakes. To avoid this, let the experienced advisors at Parker Financial LLC guide you. When you hire our team, we offer a comprehensive review of your current investments, taxes, and the data in the Retirement Budget Calculator. We will ensure your plan's completeness and accuracy, helping you create an in

In todays podcast I’m going to share some of my favorite things in 2024. It’s time to get your wallet out and start shopping for Christmas gifts. So I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite things as well as some of my favorite experiences. I'm so grateful that we get to do life together. Thank you for tuning into Sound Retirement Radio. I hope these ideas inspire you as you search for meaningful gifts for your loved ones and plan enjoyable moments with the people who matter most to you.

What if I told you that having a net worth of 3 million dollars was not enough to retire. In today's podcast we are going to uncover how this could happen. We’re diving into the first principles thinking and how it is applied to retirement planning and then focusing on what I believe to be the most important foundational number for a successeful retirement. At the end of todays show I am also going to give you some questions you can ask your spouse after the relatives leave and you have time to think about retirement planning over an slice of Costco's pumpkin pie. These questions will be available at SoundRetirementPlanning.com just click on episode 441. The Retirement Budget Calculator is an intuitive tool that promises ease and accuracy. However, like any tool, user error could potentially lead to costly mistakes. To avoid this, let the experienced advisors at Parker Financial LLC guide you. When you hire our team, we offer a comprehensive review of your current investments, taxes, and the data in the Retir

I can’t believe it—I’ve officially hit the big 5-0! I was pretty sure my wife would have taken me out long before I made it this far. Not only am I still here, but in a few months, we’ll be celebrating 28 years of marriage. To mark this milestone birthday, I decided to write a list of things I’ve learned up to this point in my life. I'm writing it as if I were speaking to my kids.

One of the top concerns we're hearing from clients regarding retirement planning and investment management is the potential impact of the upcoming presidential election on their investments. In today’s podcast episode, I want to provide some historical context by looking at what has happened in the days, weeks, and years following four of the last presidential elections. For articles, links and resources mentioned in todays show visit https://soundretirementplanning.com/  The Retirement Budget Calculator is an intuitive tool that promises ease and accuracy. However, like any tool, user error could potentially lead to costly mistakes. To avoid this, let the experienced advisors at Parker Financial LLC guide you. When you hire our team, we offer a comprehensive review of your current investments, taxes, and the data in the Retirement Budget Calculator. We will ensure your plan's completeness and accuracy, helping you create an investment strategy, assist with tax planning, and monitor your plan to maximize your

Imagine if a few small changes to your retirement plan could result in hundreds of thousands more at the end of your life! In today’s podcast, I’m going to walk you through three powerful strategies that can optimize your plan and potentially increase your savings by hundreds of thousands of dollars. These are: Roth conversions Social Security Timing Withdrawal Order The Retirement Budget Calculator is an intuitive tool that promises ease and accuracy. However, like any tool, user error could potentially lead to costly mistakes. To avoid this, let the experienced advisors at Parker Financial LLC guide you. When you hire our team, we offer a comprehensive review of your current investments, taxes, and the data in the Retirement Budget Calculator. We will ensure your plan's completeness and accuracy, helping you create an investment strategy, assist with tax planning, and monitor your plan to maximize your retirement benefits. At Parker Financial we offer a well-crafted retirement investment strategy, d

A common consideration for people living in colder climates is purchasing a second home in a warmer region to escape the winter months. However, in March 2022, the Federal Reserve began increasing interest rates to combat inflation. This move caused many potential buyers to hit pause on their plans for a second home. Recently, on September 18, 2024, the Fed announced its first rate cut, lowering the Federal Funds rate to 4.75%-5%, marking a half-percent decrease. Mortgage rates, which had soared as high as 8%, are now starting to come down. As a result, more people are reconsidering downsizing or purchasing that second home. At the same time, there has been a rise in aggressive sales tactics from mortgage lenders. To help navigate these waters, I invited my friend Frank Ellerbroek, a seasoned mortgage broker, to join today's podcast. He’ll share his insights on the current market trends and offer advice on what to watch out for if you're thinking of financing a second home or downsizing to a more manageable p

In today’s podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with Martin, who retired at the age of 56. He shares his experiences, including how he spent the first two years traveling the country in an RV, what made him realize it was the right time to retire, and why he’s glad he made the decision to retire early. Martin also opens up about some of the challenges he’s encountered along the way.  

You are listening to episode #435 and the title is: Pay Off Your Mortgage at Retirement or Invest? Pros and Cons Explained! This is one of the most common questions people face: Should you pay off your mortgage at retirement, or should you invest the money instead? This decision can have a significant impact on your financial security and peace of mind in retirement. The Retirement Budget Calculator is an intuitive tool that promises ease and accuracy. However, like any tool, user error could potentially lead to costly mistakes. To avoid this, let the experienced advisors at Parker Financial LLC guide you. When you hire our team, we offer a comprehensive review of your current investments, taxes, and the data in the Retirement Budget Calculator. We will ensure your plan's completeness and accuracy, helping you create an investment strategy, assist with tax planning, and monitor your plan to maximize your retirement benefits. At Parker Financial we offer a well-crafted retirement investment strategy, deeply ro

In today's podcast I want to talk about expectations and the recent market volatility and give you some historical data to help put some of this recent volatility into context.

In today's podcast, I’m excited to share what I am calling the Pyramid of Investing Success. We will begin by exploring the foundation of the pyramid and then progress layer by layer until we reach its pinnacle.