5 Things People Wish They’d Known Before They Retired

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Today, we’re talking about things people wish they’d known before retiring.

Planning for retirement is a tricky business! Lots of moving pieces and parts. Today we’re going to share some things real retirees said they wish they’d known before they retired.

We’re going to focus on a handful of high-impact areas that can add tens of thousands of dollars to your retirement savings.

Host Stacy Johnson is joined by financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer Aaron Freeman. Friend of the show, Pam Krueger from Wealthramp, returns to share real stories of retirement regrets.

Before you listen, remember: This isn’t financial advice. So make sure to do your own research and consult your own experts before acting on anything you learn here.

You can listen to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts:

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Watch out for these money mistakes

In this episode, we discuss specific retirement mistakes, but they’re not the only money mistakes you could make. Check out these resources that cover some of the most common money mistakes — not just for retirement specifically — and how to avoid them.

• 5 Surprisingly Costly Mistakes We Make at Gas Stations
• 15 Common Thrift Store Shopping Mistakes to Avoid
• 12 Home-Selling Mistakes You’ll Regret
• 16 First-Time Homebuyer Mistakes To Avoid
• 7 of the Worst Car-Buying Mistakes You Can Make
• 27 Big Financial Mistakes That Most People Make — and How to Fix Them
• 14 Mistakes That Are Running Up Your Water Bill
• 6 Mistakes That Can Cost You a Job Offer in No Time
• 9 Money Mistakes Setting Fire to Your Future
• 6 Medicare Mistakes To Avoid for a Healthy Retirement
• Don’t Make These 6 Expensive Financial Mistakes
• 15 Mistakes People Make With Roth IRAs
• The 3 Mistakes Nearly Every Investor Makes
• 6 Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid

Helpful tips for a better retirement

Ready to take the next steps for a better, more successful retirement? We’ve got you. Check out our retirement resources:

• How Much Do You Need for Retirement If You Live to Age 100?
• 12 Simple Ways To Save Money in Retirement
• Over-Saving for Retirement: Advice From People Who Saved Too Much
• Your Year-End Retirement Checklist: Prepare for a Great 2024 and Beyond
• 6 Ways to Keep a Stellar Credit Score in Retirement (and Why)
• 15 Tips to Successfully Downsize in Retirement
• The Right Advisor Can Double Your Retirement Savings: 4 Tips to Find One
• The Top 8 Sources of Retirement Income, According to Retirees
• The Top 10% of Retirement Savers Share These 4 Traits
• 98 Tips for a Healthy, Wealthy and Happy Retirement
• 8 Ways AI Can Help Plan Retirement — and 12 Risks From Using It
• 11 Retirement Milestones Everyone Should Know
• 12 Hard Truths About Retirement

Meet this week’s guest, Pam Krueger

Pam Krueger is a recognized investor advocate and award-winning personal finance journalist and author. She is the founder and CEO of Wealthramp, an advisor-matching platform that connects consumers with rigorously vetted and qualified fee-only financial advisors. It is the only advisor referral service that gives people full control over when and how they talk to their referred advisors.

Her perspectives on personal finance regularly appear in Marketwatch, Forbes, PBS Next Avenue, and she is a frequent speaker on fiduciary financial advice. In addition, Pam is an active volunteer member of the Retirement Income Committee at the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the retirement security of America’s workers. She has also served on the California Jump$tart Coalition, an organization dedicated to increasing financial literacy among children and teens, where she created one of their most successful curricula available for K-12 teachers, called Investing Pays Off For Kids.

Each year, she spends part of her time in San Francisco, California and lives in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

• Wealthramp
• Podcast: MoneyTrack
• Podcast: Friends Talk Money
• X (Twitter)
• LinkedIn

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About the hosts

Stacy Johnson founded Money Talks News in 1991. He’s a CPA, and he has also earned licenses in stocks, commodities, options principal, mutual funds, life insurance, securities supervisor and real estate.

Miranda Marquit, MBA, is a financial expert, writer and speaker. She’s been covering personal finance and investing topics for almost 20 years. When not writing and podcasting, she enjoys travel, reading and the outdoors.