Ben McKain, Northwestern Mutual

It is better to fail at your own life than succeed at someone else’s.

-Andre Gide

**my WHY WEDNESDAY**

It turns out that forced smiles are still cute. At least they made an effort!

**TIP TUESDAY**

"There is something within us that responds deeply to people who level with us."
-Sue Scott in Fierce Conversations

In my financial conversations with clients, it is my supreme desire to experience my honesty, authenticity, boldness, kindness, directness, and empathy.

If those are lacking with your current advisor, then maybe we should grab a coffee.

**MOTIVATION MONDAY**

Morgan Housel says,

Savings = the gap between your income and your ego.

**my WHY WEDNESDAY**

These girls are soaking up every moment of summer.

**TIP TUESDAY**

If you're in your 30s and don't have a financial advisor, what are you waiting for??

**MOTIVATION MONDAY**

You create things twice; first mentally then physically.
-The 12 Week Year

Visualize then act!

**STORY SUNDAY**

I reviewed a statement of an old 401(k) for a new client. She has no plans to retire until she's at least eligible for social security, which is 30+ years away.

She had no idea that the money in her old account was sitting in cash. It had been that way for over a year since she left the job where the account started, and it would have remained in cash until someone else reviewed it for her. It wasn't a small amount either, so the fact that it wasn't growing was significant.

Have your accounts reviewed annually by someone you trust. If I can be a resource, let me know.

**STAT SATURDAY**

Retiring with $500K invested for 20 years @ average annual return of 5% is $1.326M.

Retiring with $500K invested for 20 years @ average annual return of 7% is $1.934M.

(The second scenario is almost 50% more money.)

Knowing this, my thought process goes here:

How do we create reliable income, safe dollars, and protected assets so that we can give ourselves permission to be more aggressive for longer during retirement?

That's a question I'd love to answer for anyone who isn't sure they can retire without the risk of running out of money.