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It’s the Cash Flow, Folks!

Knowel McGraw

At Vivid Financial Group, we focus on the cash flow, because that’s what many retirees live on: monthly cash flow, not growth.

Since 1990, I have worked with families to help them retire. The No. 1 question the retiree needs to be answered is how much income they can generate safely and reliably every month.

Unfortunately, growth gets all the headlines, but unless that growth gets locked in, many folks will give it all back during a downturn and never get a chance to spend it.

When you get ready to retire, you should put together a monthly expense spreadsheet and a monthly income statement.

Where will the monthly income come from? Social Security, pensions, your own nest egg?

The stock market may have been a great place to grow your nest egg while you were working, but is it a great place to get your monthly income?

Most folks on Wall Street will say that, in the long run, the stock market will always go up – which may or may not be true – but you may not have the long run.

Where will the income come from? Dividends are good, but they can and do get cut. Interest payments can get delayed, lowered, or suspended. Rental income is not guaranteed, and renters can stop paying in a bad economy. Royalty payments can fluctuate greatly based on the underlying commodities. Selling stocks to generate income is very risky because of volatility and stock market crashes. Generating reliable monthly income is very tricky when it is backed by risky assets.

So, how do you turn your nest egg into a stream of monthly income payments that you can count on month in and month out?

Many retirees rely on annuities offering guaranteed income strategies backed by insurance companies for their monthly income. Then they use more aggressive strategies for their “risky” money. This is how many retirees help protect their “safe” money from stock market collapses and generate guaranteed monthly income.

When it comes to guaranteed monthly income strategies, there are many to choose from, and no one strategy is right for everybody. When you do research, you will come across many positive and negative articles; the problem is figuring out which applies to your situation. Unless you are an expert in this area, it may be difficult to understand all of the details.

We have found very little “research” on the internet that is not biased, so as you research, please remember that many articles are confusing and may not have your situation in mind. Find a knowledgeable professional in your area who has helped others go from working to retirement using guaranteed income strategies.

Choosing the right combination of strategies is very important, but the ongoing servicing of these strategies is just as important. There are many ways to mix and match, plus manage, these strategies to provide a better outcome for your situation.

If you already use a guaranteed strategy issued by an insurance company, we can review it in detail to see if any adjustments can be made to increase its effectiveness for you. Many folks use us as a sounding board to bounce ideas and information off of before making these very important decisions.

Lastly, if you have not already filed for Social Security, let us run a complimentary Social Security maximization report for your family. Plus, have your taxes complimentarily reviewed by our CPA partner for a second opinion.

Retirement is funded on monthly cash flow, not on phantom growth.

Disclosure: Annuity guarantees are backed solely by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Insurance and annuities offered through Vivid Financial Group, LLC, TX Insurance License #2106734.

About the Author:

Knowel McGraw became a stockbroker in December of 1990. All during the ‘90s, he was an old-fashioned stockbroker, recommending individual stocks and bonds to investors. Starting in the early 2000s, he worked for some of the world’s largest insurance companies, educating advisors on sophisticated protection strategies.

He is now a retirement income strategist at Vivid Financial Group, which is an independent firm that focuses solely on retirement income strategies.

 

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