Typically, the things we desire most in life are also the most challenging and demanding, but they ultimately bring us the greatest satisfaction and yield the best outcomes. Just like gardening, well-planned financial plans require time and patience to succeed. In today’s episode, we explore the parallels between gardening and financial planning and the lessons we can learn from them.   While investing all your money into a single account may seem convenient, it is likely not the best approach for long-term success. Join us as we explain why it’s worth spending the time and effort to deve ..read more

With Tax Day right around the corner, we wanted to record a timely episode to answer your tax questions for 2023. In fact, tax filing season might look a little different this year than it has in years past. In today’s episode, we’re going to cover some common tax pitfalls and how to avoid them.   We’ll dive into some interesting statistics on tax filing in the U.S. and talk about some recent bills and rule changes that you need to be aware of before filing this year. Should you hire a professional accountant to file your taxes? What happens if you push off filing your return? We’ll answe ..read more

Most of the people we work with in Arizona have utilized an IRA to help save for retirement. It’s one of the most popular tools out there for good reason, and it’s a big piece of many retirement plans.   But the IRA is also unique in a lot of ways from anything else you might use to save. In this episode, Nancy will tackle the ‘Dirty Dozen’ differences that an IRA has from other retirement accounts. There will probably be things on this list that you’re familiar with but we hope you’ll also pick up some new information during our discussion.   No matter how well-versed you are with I ..read more

Retirement is an exciting time and should be a period where life is free from worry and responsibility. We work every day to help people in Arizona find that financial freedom, but that doesn’t mean that stress won’t creep up in retirement.   Today we want to talk about these stressors that people often deal with in retirement. Some of it stems from the unknown while other stress is created by the unexpected. No matter where it comes from, it’s important to us to help you through these experiences through proper planning and guidance.   Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episod ..read more

The Arizona Corporation Commission’s Securities Division released a warning to investors this month about self-directed IRAs, and it’s something that we immediately read through and processed.   In this episode, we’re going to give you the details in the alert and help you better understand what you need to be aware of. If this is an account you have or are thinking about opening, then you want to have all the information available to help you make the best decisions possible.   The self-directed IRA isn’t like a regular IRA. This product allows you to store other types of assets lik ..read more

The first quarter of the year is always a time when people begin thinking about taxes just a bit more. That yearly filing will often stir up a few financial questions and get people asking about strategies to minimize taxes down the road.   In this episode, we’re following that theme as we open up the mailbag to take a few questions that all deal with some aspect of retirement and tax planning. From converting IRAs to Roth, withdrawing from and inherited IRA, and how to project taxes in retirement, Nancy will tackle each of these to give you a better idea of how to approach these planning ..read more

One thing we’ve learned through the years of helping people prepare for retirement is that everyone has a different vision for how they want to spend that time. Retirements come in all shapes and sizes and having a good idea of what you want will help us build a portfolio that aligns with the life you want to live.   In this episode, Nancy and Sean will talk about the process for putting together a retirement life portfolio and why pre-retirees aren’t always prepared for the key transition points. They’ll also share a few different scenarios that they worked through with clients and give ..read more

Saving in your 401(k) can be an easy and painless way to build your retirement savings. But because it’s so easy and painless, it can also be easy to ignore for long periods of time, which often leads to mistakes. Since this retirement account is one of the most popular vehicles for saving, it’s important to make sure we’re doing all we can to get the most out of this money. In this episode, Nancy will cover at least five of the mistakes people make in their 401(k)s and explain what you can do to avoid this with your own investments. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: What opti ..read more

Just like the lights on your dashboard can indicate if something is wrong with your car (like low tire pressure or leaking oil), there are indicators in your financial life that might point out that you have a problem that needs to be addressed. On this episode of My Smart Retirement, Nancy Fleming breaks down at least four warning signs that should give you a clue something isn’t quite right with your financial and retirement plan. Having no idea what it costs to fund your lifestyle, being overly focused on a specific dollar amount, or getting worked up over the financial impact of the day’s ..read more

Another year is upon us and it’s a great time to assess how ready you are for retirement to kick off 2023. If you’re retiring this year, it’s essential to have some concrete answers to these questions. If you’re still a few years from the milestone, tune in so you can start thinking about these critical conversations. Running through this entire list of planning items will ensure that you’ve checked the most important boxes off your list so that you will be prepared to make the transition into retirement. If you aren’t sure how you’d answer any of these questions, make sure you get with a fina ..read more