Lessons in Successful Long-Term Planning from the 2nd Edition of Keen on Retirement
Thanks to the tremendous support of the Keen Wealth community, our podcast audience, and readers of our blog, I'm thrilled to announce that the 2nd Edition of Keen on Retirement: Engineering The Second Half Of Your Life has hit Amazon's best-seller list! [1]
I think one of the reasons that folks have connected with the book is that I try to present up-to-date information on things like the SECURE Act and Medicare with an eye towards the big picture. And I think maintaining that wider perspective in your financial planning has only become more important since I published the 1st Edition of the book in 2019. The pandemic accelerated so many things in our society, from how we connect and communicate to how our government thinks about retirement. If you aren't working with an advisor and following a comprehensive financial plan, it's very easy to let the news of the day or the hot get-rich-quick pitch lead you off the path towards a safe, secure, and fulfilling retirement.
On today's show, we talk about some of the additions I made to the 2nd Edition of my book. I sincerely hope that this new material and our discussion broadens your own perspective and helps you maintain focus on sound financial planning principles.
Avoiding the Next Flash in the Pan
In my thirty years working in financial services, I've seen "the next big thing" come and go more times than I can count.
In the 1980s, many financial experts were convinced that Japan was going to become the world's dominant economy.
By the late 1990s and early 2000s, excitement had shifted to "The Four Asian Tigers" (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan) and the Dot.com boom that included new companies like Google and Facebook ... and also AOL and MySpace.
Then, brokerage firms and institutional investors were telling folks they had to have money invested in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa).
Did some folks make money investing in foreign markets and Dot.com companies? Of course. But there's always a much larger group of folks who read the headlines, see dollar signs, and overexpose themselves to "hot" companies, funds, or risky investment strategies. Sometimes these folks work with brokers who are only interested in making their commissions. And sometimes these folks are going it alone.
Since the 2019 release of my book, excitement has shifted to the new digital economy. Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Facebook (now Meta), and Tesla became the first U.S. companies to reach trillion-dollar valuations. Bitcoin and other digital currencies like Dogecoin surged in value. A group of renegade amateur investors on Reddit chat boards sent AMC and GameStop "meme stocks" soaring. New digital players like Carvana, Uber, Draft Kings, Rocket Mortgage, and FTX spent millions on Super Bowl ads.
Well, you know what happened next.
Tech stocks have had a very rough time in 2022, as rising inflation and tighter monetary policy have caused Wall St. to reevaluate what some of these companies are really worth.
Cryptocurrency is experiencing another crash and perhaps an Enron moment.
And meme stocks came back down to earth.
Again, I'm not saying that investing in Apple and Google is a bad move. And even digital currency, which my team and I are still skeptical about, could have a (small) place in a successful investment portfolio at some point in the future. But treating any one investment like a get-rich quick scheme is a recipe for disaster. Watching the price of Bitcoin jump up and down might be more exciting than making monthly contributions into a balanced, diversified retirement plan but if you're working with a financial advisor, that plan is a much more reliable course to long-term wealth.
Navigating Unprecedented Times
Just visualizing that course towards the future has become a bit tougher in the last three years as well. The pandemic, volatile markets, rising inflation, war in Ukraine, and political divisions here in the U.S. have many folks feeling like we're living through a period of unprecedented challenges. Sure, the world and the economy have gone through tough times before, but "this time is different."
In the 2nd edition of my book, I try to make a more optimistic case. For one, the fundamentals of our economy are a lot stronger than some of the scarier headlines about recession and stagflation worries would have you believe. And if you step back and look at long-term market history for the last hundred years, you'll see a trajectory that absorbs "unprecedented" events like the Great Depression, World War II, 9/11, and the Great Recession, corrects, and continues to grow in a positive direction.
Partially, that's because even the most challenging world events and moments in our lives have something important in common: eventually, they end. A major key to growing wealth over time is navigating those moments today without letting your emotions lead you to snap decisions that could negatively affect you tomorrow. A comprehensive financial plan can provide that perspective and that solid foundation, regardless of what's happening in the rest of the world.
Again, I'd like to thank the Keen Wealth community and our audience for making the 2nd Edition of Keen on Retirement: Engineering The Second Half Of Your Life a best-seller[2]. If you don't have a hard copy yet, or if you'd like to get yours signed, I'd love to see you at the Open House event we're hosing this Saturday, December 3rd at our beautiful new office in Overland Park. Call or email us at info@keenwealthadvisors.com and we'll get you on the guest list. I'd also be happy to mail a complimentary signed copy of the book to anyone who reaches out.[3]
[1 & 2] For further details on Amazon rankings please visit https://www.keenwealthadvisors.com/important-disclosures
[3] Offer limited to US residents.
About Bill
Bill Keen is a CHARTERED RETIREMENT PLANNING COUNSELOR℠ and independent financial advisor with more than 25 years of industry experience. As the founder and CEO of Keen Wealth Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm, he specializes in 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 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.
KWMG, LLC’s dba Keen Wealth Advisors (“company”) is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor located in Overland Park, KS. The company and its representatives may only conduct business in those states where registered or where excluded/exempt or from licensure. For registration information please contact the SEC or the state securities regulators for the states where the company is notice filed. A copy of the company ADV is available upon request. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where the company and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. No advice may be rendered by the company unless a client service agreement is in place. This information is not intended to be investment advice or construed as a recommendation or endorsement of any particular investment or investment strategy and is for illustrative purposes only. Clients and prospective clients must consider all relevant risk factors involved with each strategy, including costs or fees, and their own personal financial situations before trading.
The views outlined in the book, Keen on Retirement Engineering the Second Half of Your Life, are those of the author and should not be construed as individualized or personalized investment advice. Any economic and/or performance information cited is historical and not indicative of future results. Economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted.
The Amazon Best Seller ranking listed on marketing materials is specifically referring to Best Seller rankings for the Kindle Top 100 Paid Lists under the subcategories of: Budgeting and Financial Risk Management, based on data as of September 5, 2019. Amazon rankings although relevant on how a product is selling overall doesn’t necessarily indicate how well an item is selling among other similar items or similar item categories. Amazon may choose the most popular categories or subcategories within which an item has a high ranking to determine its best seller rankings. These rankings are updated hourly and as a result, should be expected to fluctuate as such. Keen Wealth Advisors and Amazon are not affiliated entities.
The Steve Sanduski Advisor Network, Belay Advisor, LLC and other third-party contributors to our blogs and podcasts are not affiliated with Keen Wealth Advisors.
For additional details on Keen Wealth Advisors, please visit https://www.keenwealthadvisors.com/important-disclosures.
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