#746: We begin today’s episode with a discussion of the disastrous flash flooding in Nepal, a personal topic for Paula given her family there. There’s both a human story, one of the resilience of the Nepalese people and the strong community bonds there, and an economic story, where poor infrastructure and a lack of economic development have hindered disaster response and exacerbated the tragedies of recent events.
Listeners can donate to help the victims here:
The Prime Minister Relief Fund: https://pmdrf.nchl.com.np/
Caritas Nepal: https://www.caritasnepal.org/donate-now/
Learn more about the ongoing rescue efforts at https://help.ekantipur.com/
A caller wants to put part of her mom's $80,000 home-sale proceeds into an annuity — and it left her financial-planner co-host doing a double take. Turns out it might be the first caller in the show's history the product was actually built for.
This week's Q&A tackles two retirement questions from listeners: when it makes sense to ease off maxing out a 401k in favor of a more flexible brokerage account, and whether a guaranteed-income annuity is the right move for a retiree who isn't great at managing money on her own.
In this episode, we discuss:
How to know when to stop maxing out your 401k and start filling a taxable brokerage account instead
The real "deal" you're making with the government every time you use a tax-advantaged account
Why an insurance company can keep 100% of the money if the annuity holder dies too soon — and how to avoid it
The one type of person a guaranteed-income annuity is actually built for
A simple daily habit trick for building consistency, borrowed from a world-class choreographer
Why doing everything right doesn't guarantee a good outcome, and what that means for your own decisions
What Nepal's disaster response reveals about the real payoff of economic development
Whether you're mapping out an early-retirement bridge or helping a parent build guardrails around a windfall, this episode will help you think more clearly about the trade-offs each option carries.
🔗 RESOURCES MENTIONED
👉 Not sure which investments belong in your 401k, your Roth, or your taxable account? Grab our free guide to figuring out where each one goes: https://affordanything.com/assetlocation
👉 Morgan Housel on the split-second decision that changed everything: https://affordanything.com/488-gut-instincts-and-big-decisions-with-morgan-housel/
👉 Our interview with retirement researcher Dr. Wade Pfau on annuities and retirement income: https://affordanything.com/271-retirement-planning-in-2020-with-dr-wade-pfau/
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