Today’s Prep:
The last few years leading up to retirement can have a significant impact on what your retirement actually looks like. This is when you start making the decisions and plans you’ll actually implement in a few years. Are you ready?
Equipping Points:
As you near retirement, there are a lot of things to consider and financial items to get in place. After years of saving for retirement you might ask, now where do I start? The ten years leading up to retirement make up an important decade as you review your plan and have a bit more clarity on what your life in retirement could look like.
Deciding what’s important is your first step, and it requires you to answer a lot of questions. When do you want to retire? And what do you want to do in retirement? Figuring out where your priorities lie will allow you to better determine how to plan. Find out how much money it will take to maintain your style of living. Is there a gap in your income streams? If so, how do you fill that gap? Or, would you rather keep working? Do you like your job or want to pursue a job that coincides with your passion? Finally, do you want to leave a legacy?
What are the numbers you need to know? Knowing these numbers will help shape your plan. What numbers will decrease in retirement and what will increase? Maybe you’ll want more money to travel or have less to pay for in taxes. How much money will you have or what kind of income streams will you have coming in? Consider also what your healthcare costs may look like. Then you’ll want to stress test those numbers to make sure they work with your plan.
When you make a plan, you’re projecting into the future and basing some of those decisions on assumptions. Over time, those things may change. Updating your plan on an annual basis will help you make decisions that impact your day-to-day and allow you to enjoy your life, knowing that your plan is working as needed.
Listen to the full episode in the play above or click on the timestamps below to prepare for the final decade before retirement.
1:34 – Deciding what’s important is the first thing to do.
4:04 – Know your numbers and understand what it will take to maintain your standard of living.
7:13 – Get a handle on your healthcare. How will you pay for it?
9:55 – Understand that your plan and needs will continue to evolve.
Related Resources:
Should You Take House Debt Into Retirement?
Retiring Early: Is It Possible and Is It Right For You?
Today’s Takeaway:
[spp-tweet tweet= “Healthcare is a big one–you need to have a plan for that and how you’re going to pay for it. We will need it in retirement. Everyone needs it, but in retirement you access it a lot more, so make sure you understand the cost and work it into your plan. –Eric Peterson“]
Subscribe To The Podcast:
Apple Podcasts - Google Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - iHeartRadio - TuneIn
Check out some other recent episodes
The Hidden Costs of Mutual Funds in Retirement
Retirement decisions aren’t made in spreadsheets alone. They’re shaped by mood, headlines, memories, and personal experiences, often more than we realize. Eric focuses on the emotional side of financial planning and why awareness matters just as much as strategy.
Retirement & Emotions: How Feelings Can Derail (or Improve) Your Plan
Retirement decisions aren’t made in spreadsheets alone. They’re shaped by mood, headlines, memories, and personal experiences, often more than we realize. Eric focuses on the emotional side of financial planning and why awareness matters just as much as strategy.
Why Retirees Struggle to Spend Their Money
You’ve saved diligently for retirement, but now it’s time to spend. For many retirees, that transition is harder than expected. In this episode, Eric breaks down one of the most overlooked challenges in retirement: actually enjoying the money you worked so hard to build.
Mailbag: Inherited Farmland, AI Planning, and Retirement Readiness
What do you do when financial decisions aren’t just about the numbers? Today, Eric pulls from the mailbag and takes on high-stakes decisions: what to do with family farmland, how much to save, and whether AI belongs in your financial life.
How Advisors Get Paid
In this episode, Eric explains the primary ways financial advisors earn compensation, including commission-based and fee-based models, how those structures work in practice, and what they mean for clients.
What Snow Days Teach Us About Money
There’s something special about a snow day. They’re somewhat unexpected, memorable, and a break from the routine. Eric borrows a few classic snow-day moments and uses them as metaphors for building a strong financial life.
Controversial Financial Takes: Are Kiyosaki, Orman, Sethi & Ramsey Right?
Some of the loudest voices in personal finance aren’t shy about strong opinions, but are those opinions actually helpful? Eric reacts to controversial advice from some of the most recognizable names in money and retirement conversations. The discussion focuses on why one-size-fits-all guidance often misses the mark and how real planning differs from financial entertainment. Just because advice sounds confident doesn’t mean it fits your situation.
Start the Year Right: A Smarter Financial Checklist
A new year is the perfect time to make sure your financial plan is still working the way it should. In this episode, Eric walks through a simple (yet impactful) checklist to help you reset, refocus, and avoid common mistakes that can sneak up over the course of the year. Miss these now, and they can quietly cost you later.
Financial Truths Hidden in Famous Songs
Money shows up in our favorite songs for a reason. It captures the emotions, tensions, and tradeoffs we all feel when it comes to finances. In this episode, Eric has some fun pulling financial lessons from iconic lyrics and exploring what they reveal about real-life money decisions. You might never hear these songs the same way again.
Are You Falling for Financial “Shiny Objects?”
In a world full of flashy promises and polished marketing, how do you know what actually matters when choosing a financial professional? In this episode, Eric tackles “shiny object syndrome” in retirement planning- the glossy brochures, impressive projections, testimonials, awards, and alphabet soup of credentials that can distract investors from what really counts. Eric breaks down which tools can be helpful, which deserve skepticism, and why trust, process, and real-world experience ultimately outweigh hype.