Tired of waiting for me to write an article that answers your most pressing financial question? Here's how to cut the line…
Plan A: Send it along. Use the site's Contact form to submit your topic for a future blog post.
OR (hint: this one might be faster…)
Plan B: Take a hike – figuratively, not literally – to the Wealth Summit.
What's the Wealth Summit?
Happening September 1 – 8, it’s a free online personal finance conference. So you don't really have to take a hike; you don’t even need to get off the couch.
And the reason I’m recommending you attend is three-fold:
- The presenters are highly credentialed, experienced fiduciaries (so what?) who will be presenting content with substance in their areas of expertise.
- They’re going to tackle the personal finance issues that are critical to achieving – and maintaining – financial independence.
- Did I mention it’s free?
(NOTE: There's also a very reasonably-priced All Access Pass available to those who want to view the sessions after the Summit is over. Details at bottom.)
With topics ranging from retirement readiness to Roth IRAs to reverse mortgages and beyond, it’s likely they’ll hit your hot button issues. For example, here’s a question that comes up a lot for financial independents, retirees, and wannabes.
Q: What do I use to pay the bills each month in a situation like this?
- Work income is $0 or at least drastically reduced.
- Social Security is nowhere near enough (if it ever was.)
- Pensions have gone the way of the dinosaur.
- Accounts intended to fund retirement have varying tax implications.
Or as my longtime friend/former colleague/knitting buddy – who knows I’m only getting started in my freelance writing career – recently put it, “This is a totally tacky question, but… what are you living on?”
Why I'm Going
Truth be told, I sort of slouched my way toward what, in hindsight, I’m calling Semi-Accidental Temporary Early Retirement. (Ooh, can I get credit for this new acronym: SATER?) Essentially, I took a sabbatical and found I couldn’t go back to the kind of work I had been doing. I knew I wanted to do something; I just didn’t know what or when.
The temporary nature of this gave me a chance to get some practice being retired when the stakes weren’t as high as with 100% all-in retirement. Also as a planner myself, I was in a position to figure out a lot along the way. Nonetheless, I’m confident I made plenty of less-than-optimal decisions (read: screw-ups) along the way.
Must-See Sessions
That’s why I’m especially looking forward to Cheryl Kreuger’s Wealth Summit session, 3 Tricks To Master Your 3 Retirement Money Phases. Cheryl is a NAPFA-Registered, hourly fee-only CFP®. She was also a colleague of mine at the Garrett Planning Network. In other words, she runs her practice pretty much the way I ran mine.
That gives me confidence that she will address this topic the way I want to hear about it. So does her demeanor and level of discourse in this sneak preview of her presentation. Never mind that she spells her name a little funny.
There are 30+ sessions in all, most done in interview format with Wealth Summit founder, Greg Phelps, CFP®, CLU®, AIF®, AAMS®. (Get the impression the man is committed to financial education?) In addition to Cheryl Kreuger's, other sessions of particular relevance to readers of this blog include:
- 3 Simple Ways To Manage Your Healthcare Costs During Retirement
- The Retirement Rehearsal
- 3 Steps To Maximizing Tax Savings Using Roth IRA Conversions & Strategic Recharacterizations
- Why You Should Consider Asset-Liability Matching For Your Retirement Income Planning
Be sure to attend at least one of the 3 live sessions, as these include Q & A sessions during which you can get questions answered on the spot.
Free To Choose
As mentioned above, during the Wealth Summit, you can gain access to all sessions without spending a dime. Optionally, you can maintain access to the content after the Summit, plus many other benefits (details here), by purchasing an All Access Pass.
Wealth Summit: Register with code FISIDE50 for 50% off an All Access Pass!
The pass is cheap to begin with ($149 before the Summit starts, $199 after) but readers of this blog can get 50% off by using the code FISIDE50. (Disclosure: I am an affiliate and receive 1/2 the proceeds.)
Ordinarily, I'd recommend waiting until after seeing a session or 2 to make sure you want the content before committing to an All Access Pass, even though that would cost you a few extra bucks. But in this case, there's a 30-day money-back guarantee. So unless you find it wasn't for you and forget to request a refund, there's nothing to lose.
And a lot to gain. These guys are the real deal. Let them open your eyes to the many ways you can get your money working harder for you... after you're done working so hard for it. Hope to see you at the Summit!