Should Tariffs and Market Volatility Change Your Retirement Timeline?
Release Date: 04/09/2025
Words of Wisdom for Redefining Wealth in 2026
Keen on Retirement
The freshness of the New Year can also help us gain a fresh perspective on what's really important and what we want to accomplish. From a comprehensive financial planning perspective, that might mean looking beyond your numbers and thinking about what your money is really for. On today's show, my Keen on Retirement co-hosts and I share a few words of wisdom that I hope will help you maintain balance during the inevitable ups and downs of the markets, the news, and your life in the year ahead.
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Is Dow 100,000 Closer Than You Think?
Keen on Retirement
Longtime Keen on Retirement listeners and friends of the firm are probably familiar with The Big Hat. Matt Wilson, our Chief Investment Officer and President, is the proud owner of an oversized Dow 100,000 cap that he wears on our show from time to time. And when folks visit our offices, such as during our annual Holiday Breakfast, they often spot Matt's hat in his office and have a bit of a chuckle about its pie-in-the-sky prediction. More than once, I've heard someone tell Matt, "Gosh, I'll never see that in my lifetime." But ... is the Dow hitting 100,000 really all that far-fetched?...
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Are You on Track for an “Average” Retirement?
Keen on Retirement
"How am I doing?" "Am I falling behind my peers?" "Do I have enough money?" "How does my nest egg measure up?" My team at Keen Wealth spends a lot of time talking folks through these kinds of questions. And, as the years go by and folks enter their 50s, 60s and beyond, that conversation evolves and begins to coalesce around another question: "Can I retire?" You might try to answer these questions on your own by comparing your account balances to benchmarks or rules of thumb you've seen on social media. But are "averages" really the best way to assess where you are on your financial journey,...
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Put a Bow on 2025 With Our Year-End Tax Planning Checklist
Keen on Retirement
Does your financial team provide you with comprehensive tax planning, or just annual tax reporting? When you file your 2025 taxes next April, you're essentially just reporting your financial data from the previous year. At Keen Wealth, tax planning is a proactive, year-round process we use to put your annual report in the best shape possible before the ink dries and windows close. And when it comes to your 2025 tax return, some important windows are closing right now. Today, on our 250th episode, we explore some recent changes to tax law and potential moves that you need to...
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Avoid These 3 Wrong Turns from the Kyle Busch Insurance Lawsuit
Keen on Retirement
"This sounds too good to be true, but you’ve got to believe in those that are looking at it for you and trusting in the people with Pacific Life email addresses that are sending you the documents." So many stories of financial fraud and mismanagement boil down to statements just like this one. All too often, the folks who are losing large sums of money are hardworking folks working 9-to-5s who don't have a team of professionals looking out for them, and whose finances may never recover. But, in this case, the quote above is from racecar driver Kyle Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup...
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Managing Risks and Uncertainty Around the Government Shutdown, Stock Prices, and Market Bubbles
Keen on Retirement
"Risk" and "uncertainty" are similar concepts. But your financial plan has to be prepared to cope with both. I think that mix is what’s making some folks a little uneasy right now. In addition to the typical risks that all investors accept, we're also dealing with uncertainty around the government shutdown and what the effects on the economy will be until our leaders get back to the negotiating table. And, despite strong market returns this year, some observers are uncertain about the outsized impact that big tech companies might be having on portfolios. On today's show, we try to clear away...
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Will Tax Rates and the Government Shutdown Affect Your 2026 Financial Planning?
Keen on Retirement
Change is in the air every fall – not just in the leaves and weather, but in your financial planning. At this time of year, the federal government announces some important rate adjustments that affect tax planning and retirement benefits for the year ahead. And complicating matters this fall is a government shutdown that has many seniors worried about the benefits and services that they’ve earned, and that they rely on. On today’s show, we answer questions from some very astute listeners in the Keen on Retirement audience who are already looking ahead and wondering what...
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Lessons on Managing Life-Changing Money from Lotto Winners and Successful Retirees
Keen on Retirement
In 1988, William Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery. A year later, he was $1 million in debt. First, he splurged: houses, cars, a plane. Then a former girlfriend sued him for a third of his winnings. His brother was arrested and convicted for hiring a hitman to kill Post and his then-wife in hopes that he'd inherit a share. And after sinking money into a failing family business, Post spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector. In the end, Post said he was happier living quietly on $450 a month and food stamps than he was when he was...
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Special Guest Carissa Keen on How the Keen Wealth Foundation Is Making an Impact and Sharing Guidelines to Help You Evaluate Your Own Charitable Giving Strategy
Keen on Retirement
Charitable giving is a cornerstone of many comprehensive retirement plans. It's also a cornerstone of our mission at Keen Wealth Advisors. Our whole team takes great pride in serving as active members of our community, whether we're making monetary grants or lending a hand to projects around the greater Kansas City area. And through the efforts of the Keen Wealth Foundation, we're able to identify causes where we can have a high impact and share what we've learned about effective giving with friends and clients of the firm. On today's show, I'm honored to welcome the director of...
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One Retirement Question, Two Different Answers: Who Should We Trust?
Keen on Retirement
Married couple "Mark" (62) and "Lisa" (60) want to retire together in the next year. They shared their financial plan and their goals with two financial advisors. One advisor said they could retire. The other said that they should keep working. So ... Who's right? On today's show, we try to split the tie and help Mark and Lisa set the best course for a successful retirement.
info_outline"Jim" (66) and "Karen" (64) both retired in the last six months.
Jim has an IRA with $900,000, and Karen has a Roth IRA with $300,000. They inherited a brokerage account with $600,000 and a cost basis of $500,000. They have $100,000 in an emergency cash fund.
Jim is receiving his Social Security benefits of $2,600 per month. He also has a pension of $1,800 per month.
Karen is planning to start receiving her Social Security benefits at 67, for $1,900 per month.
Their total net worth is $2.7 million.
And now, just months into their retirement, Jim and Karen are wondering if they retired too soon. Do they need to jump back into the workforce to protect their financial plan against current market volatility?
On today's show, we analyze "Jim and Karen's" situation in the context of our broader economic moment and comprehensive planning principles. I hope this case study will help anyone who's close to retirement gain some perspective about whether market movements should affect your short-term or long-term financial goals.