Video Transcript: "Avoid These 8 Retirement Mistakes!" A SpendLessTV.com Orginal video from the Dolans, Ken and Daria:
- KEN: Hi everybody! We're Ken and Daria Dolan, we're so glad you could join us and a special shout out, not too lound, to all of our friends at SpendLessTV. We're so pleased to be with you.
- DARIA: Hi everybody!
- KEN: And we've picked a topic that I think the SpendLessTV people will like: and that is getting ready for retirement, I don't care how old you are, and troubles to avoid. Sometimes the most positive thing is to avoid a negative thing, so. . .
- DARIA: A lot of boomers who are now at that age right now where they should be contemplating, you know, packing it in and going for the gold in a comfy retirement are finding they have to stick around and work a lot longer
- KEN: Exactly right.
- DARIA: Because they didn't invest wisely or didn't invest enough when they had the opportunity in their earlier days
- KEN: Two mistakes to avoid, there's more, two mistakes: not contributing to a retirement plan at work, at least up to the matching funds of your employer, it's free money! #2, borrowing from your retirement assets. Maybe your kids need some. . . well, your mortgaging your retirement. Those are two big ones. What else have you got?
- DARIA: And changing jobs. So many people make the mistake of saying, "Oh, well I don't want to move that 401-K over, I'll take the money that's in it, pay the taxes, and spend it! It's not a good thing!
- KEN: You're gonna regret that one.
- DARIA: People who didn't diversify properly, who were all over the stock market, who were all in riskier investments, for me it's always been much smarter for retirement accounts to be in guaranteed or near guaranteed fixed investments that would provide interest income and let your outside money, you know the money that isn't earmarked for retirement take the risks of stocks and other alternatives.
- KEN: A couple of things we talk about in terms of mistakes on our website, Dolans.com website all the time, is don't take loans if you can avoid it, under penalty of practically death or medical emergency, don't take a loan from your retirement plan, and please don't take early distributions, because, unless under certain circumstances, major penalties! Two more. . .
- DARIA: One more that I want to share with you is, for those of you who are like dear-in-headlights, you get a plan, or you open an IRA and now you have to put something in it. . .
- KEN: too many choices.
- DARIA: and you get paralyzed because you don't know what to choose. Step back, look for the safer ones, do something, don't just stand there and do nothing!
- KEN: Even if you put in one of guaranteed or close to guaranteed options in the plan, at least you're starting. And the last two words, the last tow biggest mistakes, are you ready? One, two, three. . .
- KEN AND DARIA: Not starting!
- KEN: Start today!
- DARIA: It's never too late!
- KEN: So long everybody, we're the Dolans.