PART 3 OF 3: How To Set Money Goals To Create The Retirement Of Your Dreams

Hi, I'm Jason Bergquist. I'm the owner and founder of RetirementOfYourDreams.com.

Today, I’ll discuss Part 3 of my 3-part Video Series: How To Set Money Goals To Create The Retirement Of Your Dreams.

If you missed Part 1, click HERE.

If you missed Part 2, click HERE.

Specifically, this video continues to be for 59-and-a-half-year-olds to establish their Money Goals and why.

This video will guide you on what types of Money Goals you should set up to create the retirement of your dreams.

1. Pam's Path to Retirement Success: A Deep Dive into 3 Years of Achieving and Living Her Money Goals

2. Thriving Through Challenges: How Prepared Retirement Goals Guided My In-Laws, 10+ Years into Retirement, Through Dementia

3. Counting the Cost of Inaction: The Impact of Neglecting Money Goals In Retirement

Let me introduce myself if we still need to meet. I'm Jason Bergquist!

I joined this business to help people create the Retirement Of Their dreams.

I've been doing this for over 20 years through the ups and downs of the markets.

My whole goal is to help educate people. Help them understand how to set up the retirement of their dreams and bring hope back into their lives.

I realized this was my calling in 2010 when I was going through a divorce. At that time, I was financially low, and I realized that I wasn't practicing what I preached.

So, I committed to practicing what I preached and became an Independent Financial Professional and a Certified Financial Fiduciary.

This experience allowed me always to do what's in my client’s best interests.

Now, I have a team of experts helping me figure out all of the best options that are out there to empower you to create the Retirement Of Your Dreams.

Again, I’m going to cover Part 3 Of 3: How To Set Money Goals To Create The Retirement Of Your Dreams., including:

1. Pam's Path to Retirement Success: A Deep Dive into 3 Years of Achieving and Living Her Money Goals

2. Thriving Through Challenges: How Prepared Retirement Goals Guided My In-Laws, 10+ Years into Retirement, Through Dementia

3. Counting the Cost of Inaction: The Impact of Neglecting Money Goals In Retirement

All right, so let's jump into it.

The story of Pam is so important because she's the model client. I'm not saying she did everything we said, but she went through the process.

Then …

When we first sat down and talked to Pam ...

... after she had done some research ...

... and tried to figure some things out ...

... she sat down with us and said, “I wanted to retire yesterday."

And I'll get into some reasons here in a minute. But her goal was to retire yesterday.

She was sick of working.

She had been in the hospital industry for 30 years. This conversation took place before Covid.

We'll talk about after COVID when we talk further about her. But, she implemented each step of the Money Goals discussed in this series.

Pam understood it, we went through it, and she put that plan in place, and we made her “Retirement Of Your Dreams” come true.

And she retired at 55.

Now …

She’s 3 years into retirement.

Pam has been able to do many things she wanted to do.

So, number one, she was able to retire at 55.

Many believe they can only retire after 59 and a half from their IRA, 401K, or other untaxed qualified accounts ...

... because of the 10% withdrawal penalty.

Pam knew the rule and believed she couldn't retire at 55 ...

... because she needed to convert her 401K savings into income.

She couldn't afford a 10% loss on those numbers.

And they needed the math to work to maintain their desired lifestyle in retirement.

After showing Pam a legal loophole, she could turn her 401K into immediate income.

And she avoided the 10% penalty while her husband, Dan, continued working.

Again, this was super important because, with the 10% penalty, she couldn't afford to retire.

So, she put all the Money Goal steps in place.

We helped her be able to do that.

She gave her two weeks' notice.

We moved her money over and started her income. And right then and there, she could do some super essential things.

She went on her dream trip to Hawaii.

Pam has taken a trip to Hawaii and a few others with her girlfriends and sisters ...

... which she couldn't do before due to work and family responsibilities.

Again, her husband is still working, but now she's home, and her plans have changed.

So, for Pam, what came up for her was that her daughter and grandkids needed some help.

Some family issues were going on, and she needed to be there to help with her daughter and her situation.

She needed to be able to help with the grandkids.

Pam clarified that a steady income allowed her to care for her family ...

... without sacrificing her time or finances!

She vacations to places on her bucket list and is now able to shift to being able to be there for her family.

So, the action steps here are to have this conversation, make this plan, put it in place, and follow that plan.

And whatever that looks like for you if you're looking to retire at 50 or 55 ...

... you're only waiting once you're 60 or 62 ...

... that you have the plan in place, you follow that plan, and the Retirement Of Your Dreams can happen.

So now I’m shifting to my in-laws and talking about the Money Goals we implemented for them.

So, they are more than 10 years into retirement.

These steps are necessary. Over the past 15 years, our plan has allowed them to overcome the trials that have come up in life.

And live the retirement of their dreams and make those changes along the way.

So, let me elaborate on that.

I first sat down with them …

Roughly 15 years ago.

And at that time, both of them were still working. They were both getting toward the end of their careers.

They had a few Money Goals they wanted to do, and we started to put the different finances in place.

We started to make changes.

We started to make the adjustments.

They could go on a couple's mission for their church.

And they could spend 18 months in New Zealand on a mission they had to pay for.

So, they didn't have a job at the time ...

... they weren't making money.

And they had to spend their money to make this mission trip for 18 months in New Zealand.

And they could do that because of the plan we had put in place.

Now they're back from that mission trip. They've been home for, I don't know, roughly 8 years from now. And in those 8 years, they have traveled to Egypt.

They have made a few different trips in their life.

But over the past 2 years, things have shifted as they age and reach that 80-year-old mark.

My father-in-law started to have early-onset dementia and Alzheimer's.

And as those things started to play out, we had to start making some of those decisions.

And we had made some plans for these things to come up.

Take another client of mine, Pam.

As soon as she retired, she planned her lifelong favorite trip to Hawaii.

She'd never been.

She got to go.

She planned a couple of other girls’ trips to spend time with her sisters and friends …

… and do many things she hadn’t had the time to do when she was working full time and raising a family at the same time.

And then the last scenario, which sometimes comes into play, is that your family's needs determine your goals or schedule.

Pam got to go on her dream vacation.

But over these last couple of years, she's had some situations in her family with her kids and grandkids where she needs to be home …
… she needs to help out …

… take care of them …

… help raise them …

… help get them to school.

And basically, she told us that she was so excited that she could do that because she didn't have a job, she didn't have to be someplace …

… and the money was coming in, whether she was traveling or staying home with her kids and grandkids.

So, enjoy these Go-Go years where time and energy are on your side to do what you want or must do!

We had to start figuring out how we would help take care of my father-in-law.

We lived in Utah, and they lived in Texas, so we had to figure out how to get them to Utah.

When they live in Utah, we can help my mother-in-law care for my wife's Dad.

We had to sell the home, help them decide which home to buy in Utah, and have the finances.

And so, we did.

We moved them to Utah. Now, my mother-in-law has more help from her kids and grandkids who live nearby now.

She could buy a home that she never imagined being able to buy.

And now we've entered the next stage, which is bringing in help for my father-in-law.

Soon, we'll have to move him to a 24-7 care facility because it's getting too much for my mother-in-law.

We know when the finances will be at their most significant value.

We know when you're going to get the highest payouts.

We know how to use the long-term care pieces we put into play and when those come into play.

It has been a long road. And there's been some pushback on some decisions.

But we've made those decisions together.

They're reaping the benefits of being able to have taken those trips, retired, made a move, and purchased a home.

How many 78-year-olds could buy the most expensive home in their life?

Only a few!

But because we put the plans in place, we accomplished that, and they have the retirement of their dreams.

And now we're in those 'Slow-Go' or 'No-Go' years because of their physical state.

We made these plans before they retired!

And then, they followed these steps in retirement.

Now, we can take care of the things that are coming up.

Most of us will have medical issues that become our most considerable expense in the future.

And so, you want to plan for that scenario because it's likely coming.

There’s a cost to inaction.

When we work with people, we plan how, when, and where ...

... what we'll do to create the retirement of their dreams.

We often start having these conversations in our 20s, 30s, or 40s.

But then I find you need to take those steps!

You need to put the plan in place, or you need to follow the plan that's put in place.

People are still in the same place when we meet again 5 or 10 years later.

But there's a different conversation when you get older.

When you're younger, your financial planner is helping you grow your assets.

When you get older, we're now talking about distribution.

That's what our experts specialize in here at Retirement Of Your Dreams!

How to turn your assets into income so you never outlive your money.

And yes, it's great that you're working with an advisor.

Yes, we want to grow your assets during your working years.

That's why you're putting money into it, but we must start discussing coming down the mountain.

We need to talk about the second half of your financial life. We call this second half the Retirement Red Zone.

The Retirement Red Zone takes place between the 5 years before your retirement ...

... and the 5 years after!

5 years is late (but there's still time).

We have clients coming to us panicking that they got laid off, were forced out of work, or are 62.

And we need clarification and understanding of what your investments should be doing for you.

Sure, it's great you've got a 401k at work.

And they're matching it.

And you want to take all the free money you can get.

Yet people must realize that there is a Roth version of their employer plan.

Or the difference between taking care of taxes now so that you're not paying more taxes in the future.

But I know that whenever I ask a client if they want taxed money in the future ...

... or if they want tax-free money in the future.

Of course, 100% of the answer is that I want as much tax-free money as possible.

Those are the tweaks.

And changes we can make right now in your plan before you retire.

So, the action step is creating your plan.

Right now, there may be some steps you can't take because of your age and finances.

But we'll know when to take those steps if we have a plan.

1. Pam's Path to Retirement Success: A Deep Dive into 3 Years of Achieving and Living Her Money Goals

2. Thriving Through Challenges: How Prepared Retirement Goals Guided My In-Laws, 10+ Years into Retirement, Through Dementia

3. Counting the Cost of Inaction: The Impact of Neglecting Money Goals In Retirement

So now that you know why the Money Goals you set for retirement are critical …
And you learned about Pam, how she's been the ideal client because she's put the Money Goal steps in place …

… how she's been able to live and do what she wants here in her first few years in retirement.

Two of my in-laws and their story about successfully preparing for my father-in-law's Dementia in retirement for over 15 years.

Now they’re 10-plus years into their retirement.

And now the finances are there to handle the medical issues arising in their 80s.

And then, that cost of inaction … now is the time to act!

It doesn't matter what age you are. We can do some things now, or at least a plan we can implement.

So, you know the steps and the timeframe when you’ll do each piece.

And then you’ll be able to talk with us as distribution experts to put those things in place and always have money.

We can help walk you through these steps and help you think through them. We've done this thousands of times with many people!

So, we can help you with your Money Goals, too.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

So, this ends our Money Goals series, which covered Step 3 of my Retirement Of Your Dreams Blueprint™.

Tune back next week for our next series, Money Protection, step 4 of my Retirement Of Your Dreams Blueprint™.

And you'll be very interested to see what I mean by protecting your money in retirement!

Thank you for considering Retirement of Your Dreams as your partner on your financial journey!

What was your BIGGEST takeaway from this week’s video? Please scroll down and let me know in the comment section below!

Committed to empowering you to achieve the Retirement Of Your Dreams,  

Jason