How Super-Savers Spend Their Acorns in Retirement, with Dana Anspach
Release Date: 05/25/2026
Revisiting the 4% Rule, with Bill Bengen
Retirement Starts Today
If you've been anywhere close to a retirement podcast over the last 10-20 years, you've heard of the 4% rule. And like many people, you might have questions about it. We're going to hear about it directly from the horse's mouth as we talk to Bill Bengen, who first articulated the 4% withdrawal rate as a rule of thumb for withdrawal rates from retirement accounts. The 4% rule is not a rigid rule but a guideline. Its application requires careful consideration of individual factors, including health, life expectancy, and specific financial circumstances. Bengen encourages retirees to tailor their...
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Retirement Is a Sprint, Not a Marathon
Retirement Starts Today
Fritz Gilbert says the adage that "Retirement is a marathon, not a sprint" is backwards. He cites an average age where health starts to decline is 64, so sprinting in those first few years when the average retiree is 61-63 makes sense. We will dig into that idea, then follow it up with a listener who can't get her husband to think about anything but saving money. Resource: Article by Fritz Gilbert: Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: Work with Benjamin: Get the book! Follow Retirement Starts Today in:,...
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Is Your Cautious Retirement Spending Doing More Harm Than Good?
Retirement Starts Today
The fear of running out of money in retirement turns out to be mostly backwards. For super-savers, the data says the opposite usually happens. A piece from Danielle Labotka at Morningstar makes the case that for a lot of retirees: Being too cautious with your spending is actually the bigger risk. In our listener question segment: Anonymous wants to give money to her kids with warm hands, not cold. How much you can safely give today without putting your own retirement at risk? And then we'll wrap up with our Retire To Something segment: Dabbling in a little of everything. Resources: ...
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The IRS Penalty Retirees Never See Coming (And How to Beat It)
Retirement Starts Today
Every year, thousands of retirees pay an extra penalty to the IRS — and almost none of them see it coming. What catches them off guard isn’t a penalty for owing too much. You can do everything right — claim Social Security at the right age, run picture-perfect Roth conversions, manage your withdrawals down to the dollar — and still get a letter from the IRS charging you extra. I reworked a framework from an article by Sheryl Rowling at Morningstar into four clean, completely legal ways to avoid getting tax penalties. After that, we’ve got a listener question: A retiree writes in and...
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Consumer Sentiment is Terrible
Retirement Starts Today
Americans don't feel great about the economy. Consumer Sentiment just hit the lowest reading in roughly 75 years. Ben Carlson over at A Wealth of Common Sense dug into why that might be, and what it means for those of us trying to enjoy a retirement when it always feels like the second shoe is about to drop. In our Listener Question segment, we hear from someone who is sitting on 50x their annual spending - and they can't get their spouse to spend it. Wrapping up the episode we hear from Karen in our "Retire To Something" segment. She's thru-hiking thousands of miles and loving it. Resource: ...
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The IRA Decision That Affects Your Kids
Retirement Starts Today
There's a decision your surviving spouse is going to make about your IRA, after you're already gone, that can either cut short or stretch out how long your kids get to keep that money growing — and most people don't even realize the choice is being made. We're going to zero in on one option in particular, one that sounds a little crazy on its face: turning down an inheritance on purpose. In our Listener Question segment: A listener wrote in about a family farm, a couple of brothers he'd rather not be in business with, and whether saying "no thank you" to his own share is the way to...
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The Richest Person in the Graveyard
Retirement Starts Today
You've heard it said a hundred times: Spend the money, make the memories, don't die with regret. However, for certain kinds of retirees, dying as the richest person in the graveyard isn't a tragedy at all. The comfort of simply having the money can be worth more than anything you'd ever buy with it. Today, we begin with an article, The Many Utilities of Retirement, which talks about RPIG (the Richest Person In the Graveyard) versus FORO (the Fear of Running Out of money). It's an interesting look at the juxtaposition. After that, a question - listener that calls himself the...
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The Best Strategies for Boosting Starting Withdrawal Rates in Retirement
Retirement Starts Today
If you want to spend more at the beginning of retirement, which withdrawal strategies actually let you do that? This week's Retirement Headline from Amy C. Arnott called "The Best Strategies for Boosting Starting Withdrawal Rates in Retirement" answers that question. For our Listener Question: A listener wrote in wondering whether sequence-of-returns risk really fades away after the first decade of retirement, and if so — whether that means it's safe to bump withdrawals up to 5.5% or more later in the game. And we wrap it up with another Retire To Something segment. Resource: Article by Amy...
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How Super-Savers Spend Their Acorns in Retirement, with Dana Anspach
Retirement Starts Today
Imagine a lifetime spent diligently saving your acorns, only to face a mental roadblock when it’s time to enjoy them. Dana Anspach, CFP®, RMA®, and author of “Living Off Your Acorns,” shares how this common challenge impacts retirees and introduces the critical “pre-go” phase. This episode offers a fresh perspective on retirement planning, emphasizing conscious consumption of retirement funds. Key Takeaways: Identify and plan for the crucial “pre-go” phase of retirement, which involves significant financial and identity shifts Overcome the “super saver” mentality to...
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How 2 Couples Cut Housing Costs To Speed Up Their Path To Early Retirement
Retirement Starts Today
What happens when you reach financial independence by paying off a low interest rate mortgage early? Or being renter instead of buying a home and growing equity? I'll explain why hitting that milestone earns you the right to ignore some of the most stubborn rules in personal finance. For our Listener Question: A listener wants to know how to think about real estate as part of a retirement portfolio — should they own a rental property for income? And we will wrap it up with another listener-sourced segment called "Retire to Something". Resource: Article from Business Insider: ""...
info_outlineImagine a lifetime spent diligently saving your acorns, only to face a mental roadblock when it’s time to enjoy them. Dana Anspach, CFP®, RMA®, and author of “Living Off Your Acorns,” shares how this common challenge impacts retirees and introduces the critical “pre-go” phase.
This episode offers a fresh perspective on retirement planning, emphasizing conscious consumption of retirement funds.
Key Takeaways:
- Identify and plan for the crucial “pre-go” phase of retirement, which involves significant financial and identity shifts
- Overcome the “super saver” mentality to give yourself permission to enjoy retirement spending and experiences
- Understand that retirement is not a single phase but multiple stages, each with unique challenges and opportunities
- Recognize the emotional and psychological hurdles of transitioning from saving to spending retirement funds
- Explore how to find purpose and joy beyond work through hobbies, travel, and charitable giving
Resources Mentioned:
- Dana's new book: "Living Off Your Acorns: Your Guide To The Four Phases of Retirement"
- “Control Your Retirement Destiny” by Dana Anspach
- “Die with Zero” by Bill Perkins
- "The Prosperous Retirement: A Guide to the New Reality" by Michael Stein
- Your 12 Good Years article by Dan Hewlett
Connect With Dana Anspach:
Connect with Benjamin Brandt:
- Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
- Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
- Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start
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