Keen on Retirement at 200: Reflecting on Our Favorite Episodes
At the end of 2023, the Keen on Retirement podcast crossed a significant milestone: 200 episodes. To put that number in context, less than half of the 460,080 active shows on Apple Podcasts reach episode 4. It's a real testament to the quality of our discussions, Keen Wealth Advisors' commitment to financial education, the dedication of my cohosts, and the support of our subscribers that Keen on Retirement is still going strong as we begin our 9th year.
On today's show, my cohosts and I look back on our favorite episodes of Keen on Retirement and reflect on some of the common themes that connect our wide-ranging conversations about the economy, investing, comprehensive financial planning, retirement, and living well.
March 18, 2020: Coping with Uncertainty During the Coronavirus Pandemic
“This was published during the initial lockdowns. No one had ever heard of this new thing called ‘social distancing.’ Only businesses that were considered ‘essential’ could stay open. We were in fear, collectively. Everybody had anxiety around health, what was happening in the financial markets, and finances. So, it's not a favorite time of my life, but it's an episode that can be learned from. Look at where we are today. What decisions did you make back then? What did you learn? Don't miss those lessons. Learn the lessons and grow. And I want to give Matt Wilson some kudos because Matt did say, based on the data, that the market would recover and maybe be even higher by the end of the year. And Matt was right on point.”
– Bill Keen, Founder and CEO, Keen Wealth Advisors
February 24, 2023: From 38 Years at Black & Veatch to Living a Full Retirement
“When we profile clients and friends of the firm, those are enjoyable episodes, and it’s interesting to hear someone's story. One of our most popular episodes was about Teresa Hannon. She worked for 38 years at Black & Veatch, a local engineering firm. She went to the Super Bowl last year, and it was just such a fun story. She's such a fun person, and it was, I think, a phenomenal episode that will probably continue to gain traction because it's just great listening to her talk.”
– Matt Wilson, Chief Investment Officer and President, Keen Wealth Advisors
September 18, 2019: Kansas City Radio Legend Darcie Blake Explains How She Transitioned From A Dream Job into a Dream Retirement
“Darcie was a radio mainstay In Kansas City for nearly 30 years as the morning show co-host on KUDL and as a host on WHB. I’m so honored to work with her and her husband. Darcie shared some memories about her time on the air and how she and her husband handled the transition to retirement.”
– Bill Keen
March 22, 2017: Dick Blaisdell: Insights on a Successful Retirement
“Dick Blaisdell is a great gentleman and one of our long-time clients. He tells his story about retiring right before the Twin Towers came down in 2001 and then losing his wife shortly after retirement. How can things change? And what do we have to navigate in retirement? Dick has been retired for many years and still is thriving.”
– Bill Keen
April 28, 2021: Retired Burns & McDonnell CEO Greg Graves on Improving Business and Empowering Workers
Greg had recently retired, and we had some signings here at Keen Wealth for his book, Create Amazing: Turning Employees into Owners for Explosive Growth. Greg was kind enough to share his journey and history through his career and into retirement and thoughts on how business leaders can create a more productive and equitable workforce.”
– Bill Keen
March 22, 2016: Surprisingly, It May Be Time to Retire Retirement
“On this episode, we took five quotes from other people about retirement. We riffed on them a little bit, and then we talked about whether we agreed or disagreed with this quote. One quote was from an expert and author, Mitch Anthony, who said, ‘The concept of retirement was a short-sighted political machination and social manipulation, which is no longer relevant and is hopelessly out of touch with our times.’ Mitch is all about figuring out what retirement is. What does that mean? And is there such a thing as retirement anymore? Yes, we can retire from our careers, but what do we do with our lives? How do we remain relevant and fulfilled?”
- Steve Sanduski, CFP®
December 20, 2017: What is Bitcoin? Blockchain?
“Bitcoin has been in the news recently because of new exchange-traded funds. I’m bringing this episode up because it’s an example of how we talk about a wide variety of topics on this program. One of the keys to a successful retirement is remaining curious about what's going on and trying to remain relevant. And I thought it was a lot of fun to talk about Bitcoin and blockchain in 2017, the technology behind that, what it all means, and why this was even invented.”
- Steve Sanduski, CFP®
July 29, 2020: What Impact Could a Joe Biden Presidency Have on Our Economy?
“I thought about this because politics enters investment decisions in people's minds way more than it should. Especially folks who follow politics are a big part of who they are and what they believe. Nothing is wrong with that, but they also tend to make very strong investment decisions related to politics. Time and time again, history has proven that politics have so little impact on the economy and the markets that you can't make investment decisions based on politics. Again, it's okay for people to have strong opinions and follow politics. But know where your biases are, and don't make investment decisions based on politics.”
– Matt Wilson
January 31, 2018: 20 Minutes to Live
“My son Devin was 19 and visiting Hawaii when he received a text: “Emergency alert, ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.” I received a message from him, and he was with a group of people he didn’t know, under the roads, in the sewers, taking cover. But Devin is an engineer, so he understood that if a missile was inbound, there was nowhere to hide. If you remember this story from the news, you know that it was a false alert and no one was ever in danger. But Devin came on the show to talk about that experience. And he said something very powerful: ‘People always ask, If you had a day to live, or an hour to live, what would you do? Would you be happy with how you've lived your life? It's always an interesting question, but it's a lot different when I look down at my phone, and I truly believe I have twenty minutes to live. Was I happy with how I lived my life? With everything I had done? For me, truthfully, the answer is no. That's one of the reasons I was really distraught.’ Devin was a great young man then, and six years later, he’s still a great young man. But he said he would have done things differently with his relationships with his faith and how he lived his life. So, we pivoted on that episode from financial topics for a moment into something that we thought would be powerful for all of us to reflect on.”
– Bill Keen
Again, I’d like to thank all of our subscribers, as well as our clients and friends of the firm, for supporting Keen on Retirement through 200-plus episodes. 2024 is shaping up to be quite an exciting year, so I know we’ll have plenty to discuss! If you have a question or topic you’d like us to tackle, click here to get in touch.
About Bill
Bill Keen is a financial advisor with nearly 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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