“If you would like to live life on your own terms and do the things you love when you retire, you’ll need to discover how to defend your financial kingdom.”- Jerry Yu.
By Jerry Yu, Reign Financial Services
When I heard about the death of American television icon Betty White, it brought my grandmother to mind. Grandma Yu is someone who has also managed to squeeze as much out of life as possible. Even now, at 100, she is as healthy and active as anyone can be at that age. Grandma lives in her own home in Taiwan, with nurses to care for her and a personal chef who cooks her favorite meals three times a day.
Until a few years ago, my grandmother regularly traveled across the globe to visit her four children, ten grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Thanks to savvy financial planning, she has enjoyed decades of pursuing her interests with no worries about how she’ll pay for the fantastic lifestyle she enjoys. Grandma Yu never has a sleepless night wondering if she will run out of money before she passes.
For me, a man in his 50’s, I feel blessed beyond measure.
After all, few people my age can brag about still having a grandparent alive, much less a grandparent who lives independently and still enjoys every second of life.
However, Grandma Yu wasn’t always on the path to a prosperous, stress-free retirement. Had it not been for her seeking guidance from experienced retirement and income advisors and acting on their recommendations, Grandma might be living a retirement nightmare. Instead of planning her next trip to LA or redecorating her living room, she could wind up in a retirement complex somewhere, with very little money and nothing interesting to do. She might be tossing and turning every night, wondering if she would have enough money to keep the lights on.
Inspired by my grandma, I began a journey to learn more about how money worked. This education and training paid off, and I was able to help Grandma Yu defend the amazing retirement she had created.
For me, the moral of this story is that it is still possible for Americans to have fulfilling, enjoyable, and less stressful lives when they stop working, provided they grasp some fundamental concepts. For example, you must understand that the number one thing you need when you no longer draw a paycheck is INCOME. Too often, people get locked into an accumulation mindset, forgetting that someday they will need to take all the wealth they’ve saved and turn it into income streams. Unfortunately, while well-equipped to help their clients chase returns and make money, many financial advisors have little expertise in assisting those clients to turn dollars into income.
Spending down your savings requires a specialist, someone with the tools, training, and mindset necessary to get you off the mountain. It would help if you had an advisor who can show you how to make every dollar do the work of three, four, or five dollars and who knows how to get you safely off the mountain and into a prosperous retirement. In short, you need an advisor who is 100% committed to teaching you how to defend your financial kingdom. If you’d like a copy of my latest book, “Defend Your Financial Kingdom,” be sure to reach out to me. 626-890-0090. jerry.yu@reignfinancialservices.us.
