- Even to this day I can still remember
one of the first appointments I had as a financial advisor.
I was meeting with this couple in their early 60s.
Now, they brought in all their financial statements
and their goal in meeting with me
was they wanted to see if they could retire.
They were sick and tired of their jobs,
they were working more than 40 hours,
could barely pay the bills,
they just were so stressed out and they were done.
I was pouring through their financial statements
and it became abundantly clear that they could not retire
but that's not where the story is sad or depressing
but the reality was they couldn't retire that day
but there's no way that they could retire next year
or the following year,
or most likely even in the next five maybe 10 years.
See, they barely had any savings whatsoever.
All they had was a little bit in a 401k,
they had some savings at their bank and social security
and that's all they had.
When I got a chance to learn more about their story
and just inquire why this is all they had,
I learned that they didn't really invest
and the two biggest reasons,
the two regrets that they had
was they didn't invest and they didn't start sooner.
Those were two regrets that I still have not forgot
and why I'm so passionate
about educating those to start investing
and start taking charge of their financial future.
When I think back to that couple,
that wasn't the first and only time
that I encountered somebody or some people
that are wanting to retire,
that are wanting to continue the second chapter
of their life but because they didn't do the right things,
they didn't take the right steps,
they were unable to fulfill
that dream of retiring and just settling down
and what I recognize in those people and many others
is that there are two common mistakes
that these people make when it comes to planning
a successful retirement.
The first mistake is that they didn't have a plan.
They continue with their life
assuming that things would work out.
They assumed that with social security,
with what little they were putting
in their retirement account, their 401k.
What they had in savings, that that would be enough.
But the reality is that they never
took the time to run the numbers,
to crunch the numbers to see if it even makes sense
or if it's even a possibility
that they could retire when they wanted.
Many people just assume that things are going to work out
and if that is your plan, you are not going to win.
You're going to wake up one day
with a lot of regret just like this couple.
- No regrets.
- Now the second mistake that this couple make
that many people also make is they never sought advice
from an expert, from anybody else.
They took care of their finances on their own.
They never thought to think,
maybe I should talk to a financial coach,
a financial adviser, a financial consultant,
just to see if we are on that right path
to do what we want later on in life.
There are tons of financial calculators
and online financial planning tools
that can give you some great insight
on how you're doing.
But nothing compares to actually sitting down
with a financial expert, a financial advisor,
a financial consultant that specializes
in helping people retire and that knows the mistakes
that people make and the right things
to do especially when it comes to your unique situation.
That's why it's no surprise that there are
so many statistics out there that say that those
that have a financial plan,
that those that actually sit down to work out their finances
and have a decent understanding of where they're at
and where they're trying to get to
have a much greater chance of success.
You've got to have a financial plan,
you have to seek the counsel of an expert.
Don't trust yourself at least get a second opinion
to make sure that you're on the right track.
We all have a goal to continue to live
the life as we know it, to live life on our terms.
But if you want to do that,
especially when it comes to having financial freedom
and financial security, you've got to have a plan,
you've got to seek advice
from somebody that's willing to help.
Don't think that you can do this alone.
I wanna give a shout out to USAA
who has sponsored this video
and I've known USAA since I was deployed to Iraq,
they've just been a great organization
to partner with other veterans
and just have a lot of amazing benefits.
So, with this campaign,
this is about their life uninterrupted.
They want to make sure that you can continue
to live the life that you know today
and live that same life in retirement.
But the only way that you're gonna be able to do so
is you gotta have a plan,
you gotta work that plan and you also need
to seek advice from a financial expert.
Coming from someone that was a financial adviser
for over 16 years,
I know the value in meeting with a financial expert.
Somebody that's willing to sit down
and not just crunch the numbers
but also wants to know your unique situation,
to help you achieve the goals that you want.
If you are in the situation
where you've got a retirement plan going
but you need a second opinion,
you want secondary advice just to make sure
that you're on the right track,
USAA is offering a no charge retirement review
to look at your situation just to see how you're doing.
Are you okay?
Are you saving enough?
Is your savings going to last or are you going to run out?
If you have some of these fears,
one of the things that you can do today
is to contact USAA and request a retirement review.
I'll have links in the description
and also phone numbers where you can call
to request this no charge retirement review
to make sure that you're on the right track.
Your life doesn't have to be interrupted
just because you're getting ready to retire.
You've got to have a plan,
you got to work that plan
and you got to seek the advice from somebody
that's going to help out with your finances
that knows more than what you do.
Once again, I want to thank USAA for sponsoring this video
and I also want to remind you that it's your money,
it's your life and only you can make it awesome.
Until next time, peace.