Joe Dowdall, Financial Planner

Today feels like the unofficial last hurrah of summer. For me that means firing up the grill, spending time with Leila and the girls, and not looking at the clock.

However you're spending it, I hope it's relaxing, full of good company, and maybe one more scoop of ice cream than usual. 😉

Happy Labor Day!

"What keeps you up at night about money?"

That's how I like to start with a new client, long before we talk numbers, because the answer shapes everything that follows.

Sometimes it's outliving savings. Sometimes it's a spouse who wouldn't know where to start if something happened. Sometimes it's guilt about spending after a lifetime of saving. Every answer points me toward the plan that fits your life.

When was the last time your financial advisor asked to see your tax return?

For my clients, the answer is every year. That one document is among the most useful tools I have. It shows me where money is slipping out the door: deductions you missed, a Roth conversion hiding in a low-income year, or withholding that's off and heading for an April surprise.

A portfolio tells me what you own. A tax return tells me what it's costing you to own it.

Losing a spouse is painful enough. The higher tax bill that can follow makes it harder.

Here is what happens. The year your spouse passes, you can usually still file jointly. After that, you file as single. Your income might be the same or even lower, but the single brackets are narrower and the standard deduction is smaller, so more of your income may get taxed at higher rates.

The good part is we can plan for that. While both spouses are living, Roth conversions and smarter withdrawal timing help to soften the blow later. If you're married, this is an important conversation to have now.

Thinking about charitable giving in retirement? Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) can help reduce your tax burden while supporting the causes you care about.

Learn how in my tax course:

Plan for a Confident Retirement With Savvy Tax Strategies Learn about our exclusive video series, How Tax Planning Changes Through the Four Stages of Retirement, to help you navigate these challenges and keep more of your money where it belongs—in your pocket.

You’ve spent the past decades refining your retirement savings strategy. But in many cases, how you withdraw money matters just as much as what you saved. This new article explores tax-savvy withdrawal strategies to help you keep more of your money. Link in the comments.

Tax-Efficient Withdrawal Strategies | Worth Asset Management The order you withdraw retirement accounts affects your tax bill. Joe Dowdall is a fee-only, fiduciary financial advisor in Dallas, TX.

Before I managed anyone's money, I stood in front of a classroom.

Teaching drilled one rule into me that I still follow: if the person in front of you doesn't understand, the explanation was the problem, not the person.

I bring that into every meeting. If I can't explain your retirement plan in plain language, in a way you could repeat to your spouse or your kids that same night, then I haven't done my job. When someone buries your money in jargon, it may mean they would rather not be questioned.

You should never walk out of a meeting about your own money more confused than when you walked in. If that's happened to you, let's fix it.

Retirement comes with a series of tax challenges, each arriving at a different time and requiring a different solution.

In this article, I take a closer look at real client situations and how we approached the retirement tax decisions they faced.

If you're wondering what tax planning looks like throughout retirement, this is a good place to start:

Retirement Tax Planning Dallas | Joe Dowdall, CFP Dallas fee-only financial advisor Joe Dowdall walks through retirement tax strategies (distribution planning to RMDs) to help keep more of what you've saved.

The right investment mix at 45 can be the wrong one at 65. And the mix that fits at 65 shouldn't sit frozen for the next 30 years either.

Your asset allocation should shift as your life does: more growth early, more protection as you draw closer. If it hasn't been touched since you set it, now is the time to make adjustments.