S2E8 Help-I've Fallen And My Portfolio Can't Get Up

0:04 Don't blow on it. It's so enticing though. Hey don Hey Gary, I'm good. How are you? I'm good. I've noticed that my hair turned out really high and closer to God today. I don't know how I love it. It. Just pulled it out of the dishwasher, shook it out and snapped it on my head. And I'll ask. I've asked this before. I'm going to ask again. You don't color your hair, do you? If I had a nickel for every time somebody asked me no, I do not. So I'm blessed. Because I had my first gray hair at fourteen, you know, so I've had gray for a while. You know. It's we're all at different phases in. Our journey, that's right. So what are we talking about today, Gary?

0:44 So it's up a journey and maybe planning ahead for things. So we're going to talk about a living trust and a will and other things that maybe weish people at our age should already have in place. If you haven't, you need to get all it. So that's what we're talking about. Okay, Well, I've got lots to add to that because I did my homework. Oh, you've highlighted notes. It's good right. I highlighted it was the highlighter as I but he never mind. It's a long story. Okay, so looks good and stop playing with it. Well, welcome back everyone, listeners and viewers of YouTube. I'm Gary, he's Don. Welcome to this episode of Don and Gary Doing Sixty. We're here to unwrap and unpack navigating the world at this age. As the title suggests, that would be age sixty and I admit to being sixty.

1:35 Actually I'm sixty two. Yeah, yeah, I can't speak for Don, but you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other fabulous platforms where you pod. We're on Instagram at Don and Gary Doing sixty. And new for this podcast is you can see us on YouTube. For those who want to see and hear us, Well there you go join us on under the channel of Pifer Podcast Productions, and in there you will find, among other things, Don and Gary doing sixty. That's a mouthful. It was close. It's for pod and if you go YouTube, it's five for pod. But hey, this is your first time on the job. It's okay.

2:16 Well you know what, No, I look on YouTube and I thought one of the graphics said five for podcast. Productions. Okay, well that's that's the company that I am the se of. So yes, whatever I mean, they'll. Find and one of many. They're smart people. They're smart people. Anyway, no matter whether you listen to us or watch us, we'd love for you to like and subscribe. Comments are welcome, and you can also email us at Don and Gary doing sixty at gmail dot com. So how's that for an intro? That was good? You did really well? Well, you know it's written down on the page. I just need to follow it. I do have one little gossip, maybe a little complaining about something that happened today to me on.

2:57 My that's where I got to the pod. You and I both know about customer service because we've both worked in retail stores in our youth, and we know what customer service used to be. It's not like that anymore, sadly, right. So I decided I was going to stop by a trilogy of stores, not because I wanted to buy a couple pair of jeans, because it wants to have her big and I thought, you know, I need to get some genes. So I won't give you the names of the stores, because you know. That would be rude. Can you see what it rhymes with. Well, one of them is not the Bop, the other one is not Young Army, and the other one is not Papaya Republic. So all three are lined up together near my house. So I first went into Papaya No excuse me. I first went into Young Army. A couple people, friendly staff, but they were chatting the whole time.

3:52 I walked in. I walked over, I walked past them. They just kept chatting, chatting, chatting. I left YEP. I went into Papaya Republic. There were two employees in the store and I think one customer. No one acknowledged me, No one said hi, no one, can I help you? Nothing. I left that store and then I didn't go into the Bop because I figured, well, two out of three I'm done by. Well let me ask you this. When you go in, do you need help or do you prefer to shop on your own? Or what are you looking for? Well, there are times where when you walk in, they say, hi, welcome to blah blah blah.

4:34 Can I help you? Right? If I need help, I'll say yeah, I'm looking for X so they can put me in the right direction. Otherwise, if I'm just browsing around. I like, no, I'm good. You know, if I need help, I'll go to them. But it's just nice to be acknowledged, even if it's a high welcome something. But I mean, in the first start they did say hi, but that was about it. And I don't know is this the new thing and the hands off approach. I believe it's a generational thing. And I also think that retail is some thing that the children no longer want to take part in because a it doesn't pay very well. B Retailers ask a lot of employees. They always have. I han't been in the rag trade myself a number of years, and I think that it's one of those generational things too, where a lot of time, people, a.

5:18 Lot of things factor into it. I think people are used to shopping online, so they just check things out and say where's this, or they do their ordering online because I know I've ordered a lot from the Bop too or yea Papaya Republic. I've ordered definitely from them. But it's a lot. Easier to order and just return via the returning systems that right, so I can literally go to Staples drop off what I didn't like at papaya and it's done in a bag. Yes, I get it. But also, here's the other thing. I think the downfall was part of the self service checkout lanes that were put in place. Plus probably retailers don't have as much money to spend on staffing. Where did you Where did you find these three stories? Where were you? Right here in my neighborhood.

6:00 They are yeah, okay, and they're one right next They're all like one big building, but separate stores, one next to the other next. To They're not the ones off Palle Street. Those are gone, aren't they? Yeah? Okay, gotcha? Okay off of the Embarcadero. Really okay, they opened a couple of years ago, got it. I didn't know that legedly. Allegedly well apparently not going to be opened. For long, but anyway, I definitely So what. How did you feel about that? Though? Was that enough to make you say I'm not going to shop here? No? Well, one, I'm not a big shopper. I don't go to stores a lot. What happened was I did go to the store I normally purchased close from, which are like the you know, the big boys stores, and I kind of walked out of a smile because I looked at jeans and everything they had was too big for me.

6:40 Good for you. They didn't have my size. Good and you know. They're low and invatory, so maybe they would have had my size, but they don't. Now they're like, okay, no problem. So then I went to another store that's more I don't know, it's Cools. It's that more like moderate price, and they have a lot of jeans. But again then I couldn't find anything. Everything was too small. Okay, went up to like, maybe the size is right below me, but I didn't find my size. I'm like, okay, so one was too big, one is too small. That would need one that's just right. So since I was going to be walking past these stores today, I thought, you know what, on my way home, I will stop in. I did a quick check. They didn't have a lot in terms you know, it was probably like just below my size.

7:20 So I have the search goes on. Okay, I mean, I think, I mean, okay, I got one more question for you. I hear you, I hear you. I completely agree with you. How do you feel about trying on so many clothes because jeens is hard and because every gene fits differently, and even right by a papy republic, you try on the same size and they fit differently. So I mean it's a hassle. It's a big h Well. That's why I mean I rarely. I have bought clothes online, but you really need to try them all because, like I said, one brand versus another will fit differently. A lot of jeenes are relaxed fit or loose fiitever. I don't want baggy jeans, you know, because that for me it feels heavier and this and walk around going there's too much material down there, so I'd rather get something more fitted, more you know, boot cut or fitted whatever.

8:08 But you need to try it on. I have to admit to something. You know who Billie Eilish is, right, Yes, Okay, Well she started a trend a long time ago that the children are wearying that I hate to say that I bought into now. It's basically they're very wide pants. Yeah, and I bought a lot of them because I like cam I call them my Palazzo pants. But it's like, but the thing is like I've got all those other jeans that are like remember skinny jeans. It's like I can't. Well, I never wore skinny jeans. Well even I'm not skinny, and I'm not a skinny jean guy, but they have the other ones that have like a lot of stretch. On them and everything. Yeah, yeah, and I've got some of those from work and you know whatever. But it's like, now I just want on the weekend, I just want to roam around inside my palazzo pants. And they're not called Palazza, they're they're like just they're just really they're wide, but they're really cool. And it's like I just want everything flying around and getting air and you know, just nothing's constricted.

9:04 Well, on that note, that, shall we jump to our main topic. Let's jump in. I've got some stuff here. It's very exactually very timely that you brought this one up, because we're both actually working on this, I. Think, right, and for me really it all started quite a while ago when my dad passed away in twenty ten. You know, obviously we're spending a lot of time at the cemetery and at the funeral home and all that. And whether they brought up a conversation or I just thought about it, it's like, these are things that I need to plan for right in terms of where's my final resting place going to be? And they say it's super expensive. And I'm always about planning with you know, all the voluntary work I do, it's about planning for work.

9:45 You need a plan ahead what you're going to do. So I kind of take that to heart and say I'd rather plan for it now and you know, pay and installments if you will, so it's not such a big financial hit at once. You don't want to wait till some things are happened and everyone's out of. Loss, Like what do we do? What does he what would he have wanted us to do? Ye? Right, So I started with that. So in the cemetery where my father is, he was in the military. So when back in the fifties, the government approached veterans and said, hey, we can give you a burial plot at Skyline up in you know up, I'm ninety two and seminary. You as a veteran, get one for free, and then you can buy a second one for your spouse at a dis kind of price. So he did that back.

10:29 In the fifties. Okay, so skip ahead. So he's there. You know my mom already, you know she knows she's going there. But then in talking to the person at Skyline, I'm basically going to sub lease from my mom. Okay, you might want to break that one out and unpack that a minute. Well she's going to be cremated and I will be cremated so that we can share one space. Okay, so you're gonna be bun. So I had to basically buy into it. So they sublease us a plot. Well, I mean it's it's it's her space and I'm basically going to share it with her. So I had to you know, they drew up a contract and I had to make payments over X amount of years to pay for it. So that's all paid and done for it.

11:12 The next thing so that's the burial, but then there's the funeral service and then there's the headstone. So those are two additional costs. So last year I went back to Skyline and said, hey, let's talk about the burial part, because again I don't want to I'd rather pay for it over time. It's taking from May of last year to May of this year, and I'm doing it installments. So I've made this year the funeral part of it will be done, so all I have left is the headstone. Because it's you know, it's it's a chunk of change.

11:53 Sure, absolutely absolutely, And you also want it to be in I mean, you want it to be They have discovered your name to make sure it's spelled correctly, let's yes, because I always get it wrong, right, I mean, and you have to check it and all that stuff. Right. So that process started in my late forties, right, So I was already doing that. The living trust and will I did in twenty eleven, and I guess that was a year after my dad passed. I think it was all in that same thing about organizing and planning. And when we. Were kids, there was just a will and basically when the person died, they said you get this, you get that. But then somewhere down the line, the living trust came into play. So I was looking at just so I can better understand what a living trust is versus a will. So, a living trust is the type of a state planning document that serves two primary functions. First, specifies who will manage your assets during your lifetime, whereas the will only deals with once you're dead. Right, So in a living trust, you have I'm in my living trust. I'm the trustee in my name, but then I can assign people to help me manage it in the event that I become incapacitatd did while I'm still alive, right, And so those are called successor trustees. So you name one or two or even up to three people as successor trustees, so says, So they will manage your assets during your lifetime, including if you've become incapacitated, as well as after your death. Second, it determines who will inherit your assets after you die and under what circumstances.

13:23 So I guess I mean I have both. Do you have both a will and elett trusts? Just to chime in here too, because a living trust is something you can always adjust and change. Right, Your will is revocable living trust. Yes, and that's a whole other thing where we could talk about that too. But yes, I mean the beauty of having both is that you can make changes to your living trust to change the asset allocation beneficiaries. That all all the kinds of things can actually change, I believe. And that's what I'm doing now. Yes that like originally executed it in twenty eleven, and this was after I purchased my condo and for maybe I didn't know or I just did. I was off, you know, off track, never put my condo in the name of the living trust. So I've been thinking about this for like over a year, you know, so I might to do list. I got to do it, and I pulled all my paper glass said you need to do it now. So I'm in the process of changing the living trust into the changing the condo into the name of.

14:23 The living trust. I'm updating my beneficiaries and trustee successor trustees and statsh and just kind of tweaking things here and there. Right, And something you want to avoid with this whole discussion is probate because you don't want to have anything whoever you are disdaining these things to go to eventually or to be distributed by. You don't want it to go into the courts. So it gets tied up there because there's a huge chunk of change that comes out of that. Too, right. And see that's the where it kept throwing out and I didn't know. So what is probate? Probate is a legal process that occurs after a death. In most cases, Probate is a key part of settling the estate of its ceased person. In fact, probate may also be referred to as a state administration, and there's a cost involved because you have to go to court. They have to review it, so this court costs. So by having a living trust, it negates having anything going through probate.

15:15 Well, let me ask you something because this I learned a lot of this too when you're going through this. But when my parents passed away too, I was I had literally and I've got a copy of it right here. It's a typed will typed from my parents originally, and then they also had a living trust addended to it as an addendum later to it. But it was. Interesting because for me, not all the assets, like you're doing right now, changing to your revocable trust. Is that right, Yeah, you're changing up to your revocable trust. When my parents passed away, there were a lot of assets were not posted on that trust. Okay, So luckily, because I'm the only heir, there was not no question about whether it be divided up where So luckily there was a revocable trust already established prior to that, so any assets I found were eventually placed in to that revocable trust. So there was a lot of things to learn. But also, I guess what to our point talking here is, I think it's great you're doing this. Now I'm doing the same thing, because you don't want to have missing assets.

16:12 Somewhere that are right accounted for, right, And it is it's a bit of work, isn't it to get it all together? Well, yeah, it is to get it all together? And oh, I need to contact I've got some life insurance policies yea, And what they suggest is list the living trust as one of the secondary beneficiaries. Really interesting, okay, right, so. You can have your primary beneficiaries, which in my case we would like my brothers. But then it says also lists that saw I have to I have to call them and do that. I tried to your do online. I just want to double check. I want to thank you in advance for leaving me all of your diamond tennis bracelets. Well there's only one. Well I'll take that one then things, but it's a big ass bracelet. But no, I think you know, I know this is it's tedious in a way to do it, but it also there's a lot of things that actually strikes up different feelings too, because we're also talking about our mortality.

17:02 You know, we're talking about as efficient as you are and as good you are as being organized and planning. It kind of made me start thinking about, oh gosh, I'm planning things around my death. So there's a lot of things where you have to take a look at the allocations and this thing like that too. But what's interesting to me, if you don't mind my jumping in here, is I've taken a look at this. There's actually some statistics that go along with this. Okay, did you know that only thirty three percent of all Americans. Have an estate plan? Wow? Three Wow. Sixty seven percent of people do not have an estate plan or a living trust. And I think it's one of those things that you. Just don't think about until you are either the recipient of something from a trust or a will, or if you have it lying around like we both did, and we're getting to that point we start thinking about those things because eventually we're going to talk about financial planning, and that's another thing that basically plans out your life, your meaning years. Luckily, when we get to that, my financial planners have built me out to be ninety three years old before I die, So I'm just going to stick.

18:01 With that, But it's still tards. You have to start questioning these things, and also with your beneficiaries, and we don't know one of those specifics, but you're determining who's getting what and how much of that they're getting. And it's kind of a tough decision to make because you're also I'm assuming planning who, as you said, would take care of your distribution or your assets if you at one time became incapacitating. Right anyway, Right, that fun stuff to talk about, right, No. But you what you don't want to do is leave someone else who you've put in charge of your state, to wonder what would he want us to do? Yes, if you have these documents, you know exactly what they want to do.

18:47 Yes. And it is a legal document, so there's no question. Yeah, for sure, legal document. And if you haven't done one, it's good to start. If you spend a while since you've done it, it's probably good to update it. Can I ask you just that you know laws may have changed wherever you live. Yes, And also you think you didn't think of your mind, you might have said in your mind about something. Yeah, you know, you might have said, you know what, that's I don't think that allocation is right, or I'd prefer this to happen or something happens. But I was going to ask you, are you doing this with the help of a lawyer? Are you doing this with electronic. So back in twenty eleven, I went to the same law firm that my parents were using to do theirs, and my brother, one of my brothers, also did so in conjunction, we kind of been updating ours coincidently.

19:35 Today he took my mom. To update a part of hers okay, and so, because it's been so long since I'd been in touch with them and there'd been some merging of law firms and such, he gave me the contact information of the lawyer he's working with and gave her heads up that, hey, my brother Gary's going to be in touch with you soon. So they're the law firm that did our original documents, so they have it now. It's what I'm doing is I've scanned it and that like tweak this, change this at this, and I'm just gonna scan it in and email it to her and say there you go, and then I'll have to go and afterwards, you know, sign everything in person. But sure, and the lovely thing. I mean, that's wonderful because one of our future guests, Tanya, who and I used to work with, had had referred to her It's a long story, but her lawyer, my lawyer that I've worked with when Tanya was working for with him, has actually retired. So it's one of those things where that it's a good thing to maybe go to the offices of the person if they are still practicing law to do this.

20:30 But I think you know, there's also interesting. That there are a lot of electronic tools now that can actually do this for us too, where you. Can at legal Zoom as one of them. And the way we were doing ours is through an electronic service that was provided by my other half's company. Okay, so they provide that service free of charge for them as being an employee. So it was a nice interesting way to put. It all the ducks in a row. It's also interesting if I could joint with another statistic, it's I was looking at some like the age of people that have will. So if if you're eighteen to thirty four, twenty four percent of people might have a will, if. You're seventy two or above, eighty one percent of those people probably have a will.

21:11 And then you know people in the middle around fifty five, maybe half of them have a will. So it's interesting how we we tend to think of these things later on, not that we're later, but you. Know, we're on the other act of this life of ours. Yeah, So it's. Interesting because you know, I think it's very important. It's interesting because you also have siblings, and it's have you compared notes with each other about how you're doing this or is this? Yes, so one brother that he and I are the ones that you know, been chatting more frequently, he shared with me copies of his and we're like successor trustees. And on the will, it's a pow attorney. They'll say, you know, we're each other's on our wills. As great trans agreed to that obviously, right.

21:53 Yeah. So when I was going to make some tweaks on mine, I checked in with him. He goes, well, here, let me show you what I did, and he emailed me his documents. So like, okay, well y, that's what I want to do too. So yeah, we do compare notes, which is good, and I will say that. Today. One of the appointments I had was an in person meeting with one of the guys from an investment company where I have one of my four one ks. We've met previously virtually, but this first time in person. So you know, that came up in conversation with the living trusts and such, and I told them I'm tweaking it and they have their team of specialists. He says, well, if you want, you know, I can make an appointment with you with Patty who handles who's an a state planner within our company, and she'll know all the chicken review of this and that, so they, you know, take advantage of the resources that are available to you to have them look, you know, give a once over or do whatever.

22:46 So now does this company manage your assets? Also? Are they your financial plan? Yes? So I have two different retirement accounts, so they manage one of them, got it, and then the other one is a for share for one k okay that I share with them, you know, because they want to look at the big picture. Yes, And today we talked about you know, goals and when you mentioned that your plan to live to me in ninety three, we pulled up my profile I having in ninety three. I said, look, dad lived in me ninety two, Mom is gonna be ninety eight, right, because should we pump up your age? I go, all right, make it ninety five? Well I was. I thought we were pushing it in ninety three.

23:27 Yeah, you know, I mean. That's that's without any catastrophic events, right right. But it's kind of those things where you know, you know, we've known each other for one hundred years now, but it's like we never I don't remember every thinking about this stuff that much before. Yeah, you know, we never thought. This in our twenties and thirties and forties. It's like, you know, I mean, well you did you started thing. Well again, but mine was prompted by my dad's death. Did you have something already before your parents passed away? I did not, And that's why I did have, you know, a financial planner. But what does this all forces us to do every day? Is it? Making these plans forces you into thinking about how much money am I going to need to live past till we're ninety three or ninety five in your case?

24:11 Right, I mean, if we're retiring at sixty five or sixty seven, you know, you have to have help with someone who knows this to help you map out. If you know, if you're thinking you're going to live to me ninety three, let's look at how much so secure are you going to get? What kind of money can you draw from your accounts? Do you have other income coming in? You know? For me, I go, I've got the two retirement plans and then obviously I'll get solid security. The only asset that's not mine is. The family home. Okay, right, so when my mom. Passes, you know, there's four there's four, but I have three siblings, so realistically we'd sell the house and each of us would get twenty five percent of whatever that is.

24:58 So I have that in my you know, in the back of my head is like, okay, that's additional funds. But other than that, I don't have anything else. I don't have any other properties, any other assets. It's that's it. And some people may not even have that, right. But let me ask you something. Did all of this stir up any emotions in you? Did it make you uneasy? Did it make you sad? Did it make you no? Not at all? I think because it just was to me it seemed to be just a smart thing to do, to plan, so I never looked at the dark side of lohe my god, you know, how am I going to live to and we'll have money. I don't think of it that way. I just think of it's just a smart thing to do, so you're not caught off guard.

25:41 I wonder if people don't like to do it, because it does force you to make some decisions based on your again, your mortality, right. I wonder people stay away from it because it's uncomfortable for them because you're basically planning, you know, how long you're going to live, like we said before. So I wonder because I wonder if, like, of course, the kids think they're going to live forever, right, so they don't want to But I think sometimes people like us, because I have to be honest, it kind of did stoke the fires a little bit saying, oh my gosh, I'm I'm planning this date, this age literally and legally to be gone. It's like, oh god, so interesting thought. I did not plan yet. I think the fact about whether or not to be. Cremated or not, and where I would go. So I'm just gonna hike up with you and your mom if that's okay.

26:27 Okay, Well, then next time you're up in the Bay Area, we'll talk about you subleasing for me. Subleased is sublief. We'll work out a contract, right, No, but do you you don't know whether you'll be cremated or not. Do you know where your final arresting place will be? Don't have a resting place, and I most likely will be cremated. I believe that was part of the directives in my It's part of the directors in the will, so yes, but. You don't know whether it's down there in southern California. You're up here where you're don't are your parents are up Peers and they're in Colma. And actually my dad would in the Navy also, so he actually has the same situation. Where we Okay, coma. He was offered a free spot and my mom joined him next to but there's no more room, lest.

27:11 Come on, just squeeze it. I think they're gonna lease me a space in Colma. So that's an interesting thing. I'll have to put some thought into that. Okay, Well, I don't want to pry, but have you and your husband talked about it, because he's from the East Coast you're from the West coast. That's a good point. We did start to talk about it, but we haven't made decisions yet, so it's very interesting. Obviously. Yeah, I'm bunking with you and your mom and he'll be fine. With Okay, well maybe not next to her because she might run you over, so you might have to be I'll be the buffer. She still has. She's still around to be able to do that. But yeah, I guess you know I did it was it just starts making you think you reflect a little bit. I did reflected a little bit about you know, Okay, gosh, well. This is a plan, this is this is a serious but in a way also it's a little bit hopeful, I think, because they.

27:55 Okay, I have a plan. That's the good part. Well, and the downside of that is if you're some one that has not done any of this and has not thought about am I going to have enough money for when I die and just kind of wait and see what happens. I think the worst thing that could happen is that you get to a certain age and maybe if you have let's assume you don't have any kids, so it's just your partner's past whatever it's just you. You don't have anyone to reach out to. I can't move in with my son, I can't move in with my brother type of thing to help with expenses. So, you know, it just seems like you'd be lost. And unfortunately that is very true for a lot of the country.

28:37 I have to say, yeah, you know, not everyone is as fortunate as we are to have made these plans and also saving along the way. I'm sure you're very diligent about saving money and saving I. Could do better. We all could do better. Yeah, but I think you know it's it's it is challenging. It's also for those that don't have the funds or they haven't been good at saving things. I mean, I think you know it's something that's very so, but you know, I don't know. It seems like we need to lighten up a little bit about it because we have a plan where we're both very lucky to have that, right. And one thing I just thought of when you were talking about that is culturally it will be different. There are some cultures where the elder is taking care no matter what, they move in with the kids or the grandkids, right, they are not left to be on their own forgotten.

29:24 But that's not in every culture, right, and so that's something that that is hopeful, so that they know that they have a backup. With my mom, she's got four sons, and it's like, even though she's got plenty of money in the bank, she knows that all four of us will drop everything. And I mean all three of us. One lives whe her, one lives ten minutes away, I'm twenty minutes away. One is moving out of state, but it won't be that far away. But you know, we're all here, yes, And so she's got that safety net of having four kids, right, So that's a you know, a blessing that she has that some people may not have. That, Yes, very true.

30:06 And I'm sure we've all heard different stories about parents who are estranged from their kids, right or vice versa, which for whatever reason or don't speak to their family until something devastating comes along. And it's the sad reality of life. Fortunately, you know, it's a little different. I've been Also, I'm married into a family now too, which is interesting because my family is gone basically right, just me. So that was interesting. But that was a. Blessing in disguise too, because all of a sudden, I have a whole bunch of in laws and father in law. The interesting thing about my father in law is that he is eighty eight years old, going to be eighty nine. He is very independent. He has all these kids and a couple of them one lives down the street from him. They are all quite close, but he values his independence too. He doesn't want and as I think your mother does too. Right, She's like, it's great that she's actually doing her thing, and you, of course you're a very good.

30:59 Son, and that are all the time. But well, I think we're very lucky to have these parents or in laws that are actually very mobile, like to be independent and do their own thing, because hopefully that's a projection on us for later. In our lives. Right so right, yeah, so, but I got to say, the whole process just stoked a lot of emotions and thoughts and definitely, you know, I don't know how to say it. It's just more thoughts of what's lying before us, what the next step is. Because I'm sure you, like me, we've I've had a few friends that. Have passed away over the last few years, and. I think now as we're getting older, we're going to be hearing more of that or a family member, right, So, I mean I didn't wanted this ton't turn a Debbie Downer episode.

31:40 But it's just no little thing. So I mean, I look at it again. I just go back to that we're planning. It's just good to have a plan, revisit it. So just be smart about it. Yes, and by doing it. Over a period of time, you're allowing yourself to, you know, take baby steps, so it's financial wise, is not a big hit all at once, right, Sure you have if I can do it over time and spread out my payments over a year, eighteen months, whatever, as opposed to yeah you want how much right now? So that gives you peace of mind. I think, like, you know what, I'm working towards that. So I can, you know, check one of these off the list in May, and I know I have one other thing, these other things I'm doing that.

32:21 I've made myself a to do. List all tied into living, trust and planning all that. It's just a checklist of things that that are more administrative type things, clerical things that either I never got around you or never thought about, but as I talked to the people, or do a little you know, reading just it was. Just time to like, you know what, no time like the present. You know what this whole thing did for me too. It actually pointed out to me and I didn't realize this, that I might have left a four to one K lying around somewhere. And the reason it came up was because you. Know, I worked for these different Swedish companies over the years, and yes, first Swedish company I worked for, I was like, I don't, I don't remember that four oh one K.

33:03 Wow, it was it's interesting. Oh my gosh, I don't I don't know where that is. And I worked for them for quite a long time and it's like I can't believe I completely lost track of that. But you know, I'm older now so those things. That's so Luckily our new financial planner is actually the company that hosts the four one K for that company. Good good. So like, by the way, we found this line on the table. So it's interesting. I think it's funny. And as you get more things, your assets grow just because more complicated to keep track of it. I mean, mine is because I have one home, I got two retirement plans, you know, and so I can it's easy to wrap my head around that. But with you, it's like multiple properties, you know, okay, from different jobs. I mean, how many do you know? How many different four one k's you have?

33:51 Let me see one, two, three, But I think I have four, okay, and I'm going to roll one over into a roth, I think with the company now because it's time. But are we talking to talk a little bit about financial planning real quick? Or sure? Yeah? Go ahead, yeah, because we talked about this a little bit too. How do you feel and how closely do you follow your financial planning? And I don't mean the statistics of knowing where everything is and how you're invested in everything. Do you are one of those people that checks it every month and looks at the statements. I don't, only because it's a little bit above my pay scale. I don't understand even when I'm either virtually or in person and my financial person is going over it and reviewing it. I mean, a lot of it just goes in one yar at the other.

34:38 It's just because I didn't study that. I don't understand that. I have friends who they're you know, they know financing really well, and they do that for a living or they're there on top of it and they know exactly what they're doing. I don't. I don't, Yeah, So it depends. The reason why I brought it up is because luckily our new the new financial planner are going with. They work very well with graphics and they can lively press a button and they can show you charts and things that I can understand and see as opposed to how it works because I don't know the mechanics that finances. I don't stock market and everything like that. But it has made me get pause to how I'm invested going into this phase of my life. And I think we mentioned this very briefly because of the state of the United States right now, there is the potential for inflation to rise a great deal. And I know, I didn't really understand this a lot until I started reading about it.

35:30 And they believe me you can go down, so I didn't go too far. But it's one of those things where you say, Okay, I'm one hundred percent invested in stock right now, but if inflation does increase or come to a point where it's a problem, the stock market will be affected by that and actually drop, so you might lose money. So there's things different scenarios you can create with financial planning and say, Okay, I want to have an end date of this, but at this state, I want to pull back my finances or the way they're allocated. So it's believed me. It's a special science a lot. Yeah. I mean, I, you know, trust them to give me the advice, or they might say, you know, in terms of the how aggressive do you want to be in your investments, I'd say, you know, I've been saying that I'd rather be more aggressive than not than you know, than you know, milder if you will. Ye, so I figured go more aggressive. But I can't tell you I need you to put X in bonds and X and stocks and s and mutual funds or whatever the different you know categories are.

36:30 I don't know that. At all, something you just might want to end just to for as an example, what I'm just deliberating with right now is the fact that there is possible volatility in the market. And yes, all of us were really heavy in the stock market because it was making so much money to change Ta Chin ch' chang. Every year was making a lot. And now the projections are actually decreasing a bit with what the stock market will actually end up at for the year. Nobody has a crystal ball. Yeah, no, that's for sure. Time the market, it just cannot happen, right. And if you're following the guidance of your advisor and they say you should do this and you do it, you can't get mad at them if it doesn't do that. Right. It's like, if this is. How the stock market is, it's like nothing is predictable.

37:12 So if you're willing to take the risk to maybe be more aggressive in your investments, that's one of the prices you may pay, is that you might look at my I get one of them. I get quarterly statements and the other one I can go online. You know, I can check you the one online whenever I want. I don't actively do that unless I've been doing a lot lately, because I've been putting together some figures and to prepare for my meeting today with my guy. So I did do that. I'm like, oh, from last quarter, this quarter went down five thousand dollars, you know, it's like, oh, went up, so. You know, but I don't. I can't trust myself because I don't know the information well enough to be able to call them and say, look, you know, sell, sell or whatever.

37:59 This is the long game. We're not played done playing the game. If you look at the longer term of this, remember two thousand and eight when there was a star market crash because of the real estate I'm sorry, the real estate crash that started that affected everything and we So if you look at a let's say a twenty five year timeline on finances, you've probably had a very good, rappid growth within a dip and it came back. So and you can't you can't time the market. So you and I'm not one of those people that does it either. You can't continue look at a thing making sure it's thinking that it's. Going to tick up or tick down. You're just go insane watching that. So but what I do appreciate now, and I've done a little bit of it, but it's better to do it more now, is you know, talk about the financial planning so that you can map out Okay, like I said, I think I'm going to work until sixty seven, that's four and a half years away, but then you've got another twenty five ish years of living yep, So I need to know is retire at sixty seven? And when do I start taking solid security? Because the difference between taking it at sixty seven and seventy in my case is like an eight hundred dollars.

39:05 Per month difference. Yeahsolutely, So if you wait till seventy, which is the max, if I start taking sixty seven, it's like it's x amount. But if I wait three more years, I'll get eight hundred dollars more per month and would have gotten. Also, maybe Gary, you're gonna enjoy working. Maybe you want to work till you're eighty three. Who knows. People sometimes continue to work because they enjoy the work or they find great fulfillment in it. So it doesn't mean you have to stop. And like none of us has to stop. It's sixty. Well the reason why I pick that date, and it's not like a random date, but it's like most people, that's okay. Dogs are they barking at me? No? At me? Yeah? You know. The ages that come up for retirement are the old age of sixty two, then at sixty five, sixty seven, seventy.

39:50 I don't hear about too many people working beyond seventy, but in my case, I thought, you know, I'd like to travel, and I don't want to wait until such an age where maybe travel becomes more challenging. Absolutely, I think. So if I do sixty seven, you know, and keep on this health journey that I'm on, that's a good thing, yes. But if I keep working and like work until in my seventies, then like it just makes them more challenging. Not that I'll be traveling all the time, but it is something if I can afford to do it and still live comfortably, I want to do. It's like our friend Evie, who're both friends with, who have decided. I think she retired recently and she's been on the Rainbow tour of going everywhere ye possibly can exactly.

40:35 I love her mindset too, because she's like, you know, we're going to travel as long as we can travel and see all those things we want to do. So she's they've worked hard, yes, and now they're taking advantage of the time to take those trips because if they wait longer, it is going to become an issue. I like that for us. I think we should we should do that and enjoy, but remember to enjoy this. Like we were talking about mortalent everything but you know what, let's enjoy right now. Let's enjoy today. Let's enjoy the week, the month, the year, and then focus the fact we got a plan, which is good. Speak of planning. Now, you and I have not had this conversation because you have a partner, but me being a single person. I've talked to another friend of ours who's single, and not jokingly, I mean, we talk about it, but we don't live in the same city. Is that maybe at a certain age we end up combining our resources to live together. Yes, that's because financially that would be a help for both people.

41:25 Right. It's becoming very popular right now, a lot of I've seen a lot of websites and a couple of pages on communal living and what that looks like. We've always joked about it, like, let's buy a commune in Palm Springs and everyone comes lives there. You know, weren't you going to do that? We're going to run from you. Wasn't that the camp plan? Well, it could still happen. Okay, I'm still wanting to be a real estate mobile. It could still happen now. Because I do see occasionally either on social media or TV whatever the senior living facilities are you know, for fifty over fifty five and over whatever. But they're not cheap, No they're not. They're not cheap at all, and they're getting more expensive. And yes they come with a man. You know, there's a golf course and a tennis court in a you know, wreck room and so all these, you know, to.

42:09 Keep you all busy, which is great, but. When you're on a fixed income, I don't know how people can do it unless they got a hell of a lot more money than I do, which they probably do. So well, this was very interesting. I think, you know, it was a little bit serious, but I think it's more on the hopeful side because of all the plans that we've made, you know, and what's what's being put down, like we said on paper, to make sure that we're actually secure, which I love, you know, So. I guess the message the takeaway is, if you have not done some or all of this we're planning, start now. Talk to friends who've already done it, or if you know a lawyer or an a state planner, ask questions.

42:52 There's probably some online things you can look for just to get. The information and then act on that. And if you've done it, but it's been a while. It's probably good to read, is it it. Maybe things need to be updated, like mine was done thirteen years ago, fourteen years ago, so it's definitely over time for me. To revisit it in the same because it gets you a peace. Of mind and knowing if you have a plan for the future, whether it's living, trust or financial planning, how much money you think you'll have that's going to benefit you for sure. Yes, word to the wise. We know what we're doing. You should do the same. And there's plenty of tools. There's a lot of electronic tools too. You just google it, Google it. How do you think I googled all my notes today, my highlighted notes.

43:34 I googled it. I did my share googling as well. Right, So it's out there. The information is out there. We just have to follow it through. Yes, man to you, ready to shut this one down? Shut it down? Am I doing it? I'll do it? You do it? You do it, and I want to do it. Let me do it again. Thanks, joining and carry We hope you enjoyed the quality of time that we share as we roll down the alley of life. With a bowling ball glued to our thumbs. That's painful, No, it's not. Don't forget. You can find us on Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts at the Fie for pod productions on. YouTube at Donn and Gary Doing sixty and the. Gmail account is don and Gary doing sixty at gmail dot com.

44:17 Who knew? Now you know? It's good talking to you, Gary, good talking with you. I'm gonna go sign and take a look at my my my notes, and next you sign off on all of my listening. What am I talking about? I'm on yamorous Okay you am R. I'm gonna hang up now, Okay, bye, I'll see you next time. Bye.