Harvesting Wealth: Lessons from the Thanksgiving Table for Your Retirement Planning
The perfect Thanksgiving meal requires planning, balance, patience, and a generous guest list.
At Keen Wealth, our comprehensive financial planning process uses a similar blueprint to help folks cultivate wealth for retirement. And while the prep can feel like it's taking forever, when you're sitting down at that beautiful, bountiful table, surrounded by your loved ones, the wait is almost always worth it.
As you begin setting goals for the year ahead, use this five-step process to infuse your financial planning with a spirit of Thanksgiving.
1. Start With a Vision (Your Retirement Menu)
Whether your family caters, organizes a potluck, or gets out of the way so Grandma can work her magic, a great meal always starts with a carefully chosen menu. Turkey is usually the centerpiece dish, but the sides, beverages, and desserts all work together in harmony so that the flavors mesh, and there's a little something for everyone.
As most folks get older, their retirement vision becomes more and more central to their financial planning. That doesn't mean you and your family won't have some healthy sides of fun and adventure along the way. But if you have a clear vision for your retirement goals, a skilled financial advisor can help you keep your short-term and long-term needs in sync.
To start planning your retirement menu, write down your answers to these questions:
- Where do you want to live?
- What do you want to do?
- With whom do you want to spend your time?
- What legacy values are most important to you?
2. Gather the Ingredients (Financial Building Blocks)
We've all had to make that dreaded Thanksgiving Day emergency shopping run, trying to find an open grocery store for those key ingredients that we forgot to put on the shopping list.
You don't want to be scrambling like that at age 65, wondering if you have the asset base you need to retire.
At least once per year, folks should check what they have stocked up in their "financial pantries." A good mix for retirement usually includes:
- Cash reserves (including dedicated retirement and emergency savings accounts)
- Tax-Deferred Retirement Accounts (Traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b))
- Tax-Exempt Retirement Accounts (Roth IRA, Roth 401(k))
- Brokerage Accounts
- Insurance (life, long-term care, health savings account)
- Physical Assets (real estate, vehicles, jewelry, collectibles)
- Miscellaneous (bonds, pensions)
Once you've taken inventory, you can talk to your advisors about ways that you can "stock up" and manage your tax liability. For example, once you turn 50, you can start making annual catch-up contributions to top off your Roth IRA. Or, if you or your spouse develop a serious medical condition, you might weigh the pros and cons of purchasing long-term care insurance versus adding more cash to your emergency savings account.
3. Follow the Recipe (Create and Stick to a Plan)
As tempting as it can be to eyeball measurements so you can cook faster, just one too many "pinches" of salt can ruin a dish.
There aren't any shortcuts to a successful retirement either. Broadly, Keen Wealth encourages folks to:
- Spend less than they earn.
- Stick to a monthly budget that covers both essential (mortgage, insurance, utilities) and non-essential (comfort and entertainment) spending.
- Make automatic monthly contributions to savings, investment, and retirement accounts.
- Plan ahead for major expenses (housing, vehicles, vacations, college).
I know this recipe isn't as exciting as those "Invest Like a Billionaire!" guides you might see on TV or social media. But sometimes the simplest recipes result in the most dependably delicious meals.
4. Balance the Flavors (Diversify and Manage Risk)
Cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes are Thanksgiving staples because sweet and tangy are a nice balance to salty, savory turkey.
Likewise, the diversified portfolios we design at Keen Wealth try to find that ideal balance between growth and safety. That's why our "ingredients" list includes more than just cash and securities.
In fact, even within those two broad categories, diversity is important. Most folks shouldn't just have one savings account, but rather separate accounts for emergencies, long-term health care, and even specific goals like buying a house. Exposure to the markets is an important growth strategy, but if you diversify your investments across multiple accounts and companies, you're going to have more options to meet your needs and to manage the risks that are inherent in any investment.
As part of our year-end planning process, Keen Wealth helps folks review their portfolios to make sure their money, their risk tolerance, and their goals are in sync. Sometimes just seeing how your assets are allocated and discussing your overall financial strategy with a professional can help you feel more confident about how your money is working for you and how you're progressing towards retirement.
5. Savor the Results (Enjoy Retirement and Stay Grateful)
The holidays can be a hassle. But we take the time to plan, shop, cook, clean, travel, serve, and share because we know how happy and grateful we’ll feel once we’re sitting down at that table and sharing a big meal with our loved ones.
Once you arrive at the retirement you've been working towards and dreaming about for decades, you'll have more than money to be thankful for. You'll have the safety, security, and confidence you'll need to live your Golden Years to their fullest.
On behalf of Keen Wealth, I'd like to wish all our clients, friends of the firm, and Keen on Retirement subscribers a very Happy Thanksgiving. I'd also like to thank all of my team members at Keen Wealth for everything they do throughout the year. And I look forward to meeting with folks during this holiday season as we help you prepare to meet your financial goals in the year ahead.
About Bill
Bill Keen is a financial advisor with over 30 years of industry experience. As the founder and CEO of Keen Wealth Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm, he focuses on providing personalized retirement planning designed to help people thrive before and during their retirement years. With a passion for educating others, Bill regularly blogs about retirement planning, hosts the podcast Keen on Retirement, and has contributed to Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Reuters, Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, Yahoo Finance, and other publications. Based in Overland Park, Kansas, Bill and his team work with clients throughout the greater Kansas City area and across the nation. To learn more, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit www.keenwealthadvisors.com.
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