Football fanatics spend hours learning about their team’s tactics, dynamics, and playing history. Those who pay attention don’t just notice how many wins their team has, but how they got to be so good. There’s a lot we can learn from football when it comes to retirement planning. For instance, you have to know how to adapt to unexpected challenges and recognize the importance of good coaching.
Adapt to New Challenges
Whether your team won or lost the “Big Game,” we can all agree that it’s no easy feat to make it all the way to the end. This game is the culmination of both teams practicing and strategizing all season long. Creating a game plan for football is a lot like creating a retirement plan. You have to know how to adapt to unexpected challenges. Even if a team is losing by the end of the second quarter, they still have time to catch up and win the game if they motivate and don’t procrastinate. At half time, the coach may adjust the game plan based on how the game is going. Similarly, planning for retirement isn’t a one-time event. Changes in your health, market volatility, and new personal retirement goals are just some of the events that could make you want to reevaluate your retirement plan.
Commit to Long-Term Goals
The best football teams aren’t always the ones whose athletes run the fastest or throw the furthest; it’s the teams that can read what they’re up against and respond to short-term challenges while keeping their long-term goals in mind that succeed. Successful teams don’t get discouraged when they’re down. They persevere. It’s so important to have a coach with experience and the expertise to help the team achieve its full potential. Or, in your case, it’s important to have a trusted financial professional to help guide you to and through a safe, secure, and enjoyable life in retirement.
Get a Good Coach
A good coach looks beyond the immediate present to the future and strategizes. Good coaching can be just as critical in retirement planning as it is in football. This is where your trusted financial advisor can help you call the plays. Assessing what constitutes a touchdown in your retirement, whether it is travel or leaving a legacy, is the first step in creating a retirement game plan. If you need a timeout to help review your retirement game plan, let us help. The best teams are ones in which the players and coach are on the same page, so click here to sign up for a complimentary review to speak with Epstein & White.
Please Note: Epstein & White is a tradename. All services provided by Epstein & White investment professionals are provided in their individual capacities as investment adviser representatives of Mercer Global Advisors Inc. (“Mercer Advisors”), an SEC registered investment adviser principally located in Denver, Colorado, with various branch offices throughout the United States doing business under different tradenames, including Epstein & White. Information contained herein is for informational and illustrative purposes only and general in nature. It should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any type of securities or insurance products and no investment decision should be made based solely on any information provided herein. We provide this information with the understanding that we are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or tax services. We recommend that all investors seek out the services of competent professionals in any of the aforementioned areas.
Investment in securities carries a risk of loss, including loss of principal amount invested. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. It should not be assumed that diversification or asset allocation protects a portfolio from loss or that such will produce profitable results. An annuity’s guarantee is subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.
