#133 - Economic Growth, the Upcoming Election, Life Satisfaction!

Economic growth is the hot button topic during this election. Have you noticed? When politicians, analysts, and talking heads on the news use that term “economic growth” - what do they really mean by it? It’s easy to make assumptions and easy to get lost in the verbiage because it sounds like something we all want. But what if everyone who’s using the term is not meaning the same thing by it? On this episode, I’m going to clue you in on what economic growth really means, how it’s measured year by year, and whether or not we’re in as bad a situation as the politicians are making it out to be. I think you’ll get a lot out of this one. Does a slow period of economic growth make investments more risky? It kind of seems like it would, but is it true? Some very reputable organizations out there do very careful analysis of these kinds of things, taking many different variables and factors into account. On this episode, I’m going to walk you through the findings of one of those outfits to give you an idea of whether or not your investment strategy should change during a time like this when everyone is decrying the poor economy. You might be surprised by what they say. ;) Productivity during retirement is one thing - but I want to enjoy my retirement! I got a little bit of push-back this week from a listener who has heard me talk a lot about being purposeful during retirement as an antidote to a non-enjoyable life. But he’s coming back at me with a different perspective. He actually LIKES being a bit more uninvolved and laid back because he worked so many years non-stop. You might be interested to hear this little one sided exchange as I reply to his reply about my emphasis. Does that make sense? I think you’ll get it so be sure to listen. Should you keep some cash on the side to buy stocks during down times in the market? I think one of my listeners has me confused with somebody else. :) He thought he heard me say that having some cash on hand during bad economic times so that you could buy up underperforming stocks was a good idea. Honestly, I can’t even IMAGINE that I’d say such a thing and am pretty sure I never have. That’s because I don’t feel that having that cash on hand is a good idea - at least not for those reasons. So listen in to my response to this listener so you can know what to do with your cash during down economic times - like this one. I don’t have any trouble setting aside 20% for savings, but where should I put it? I’m very proud of this listener. He’s got no problem living on 80% and saving 20% - he’s just a bit unsure what to actually DO with the 20% he’s setting aside. It’s a great problem to have and an even better question - and I’m going to answer it in a number of ways on this episode. So be sure you listen to learn some of the options for those savings that allows it to be liquid enough for you to access when needed but not so liquid that it’s not doing anything for you. It’s in this episode. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN [0:29] My introduction of this episode of the podcast. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SEGMENT [2:52] What does “economic growth” or “GDP” actually mean? HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [4:22] How is the GDP doing in the United States? [5:50] The reasons why interest rates are low and stimulus packages are a topic of discussion. [6:40] The impact of slow economic growth on the markets. PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [8:42] QUESTION ONE: How realistic is it to talk with family about “personal values” and how can you state them openly without setting yourself up for failure? And what about contentment in retirement instead of staying busy? [12:39] QUESTION TWO: A listener correction to one of my answers to a listener question about retirement qualifications. [14:06] QUESTION THREE: Is keeping cash on the side in order to buy stocks really a good idea? Isn’t that cash losing more than it’s potentially going to gain? [19:12] QUESTION FOUR: Where do we put the extra 20% we’re saving? It’s hard to know where to allocate it. [21:39] QUESTION FIVE: I only have a bit over 2 years before retirement but I really don’t like my job. Any ideas? THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [26:21] Making the life that you want because life doesn’t come to you. TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [28:04] The 7 day challenge: brainstorm one area of your life (an area that’s frustrating you) and figure out what YOU can do to improve the quality of your life in that area. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Text “planning” to “33444” to get 6 shot Saturday What does that mean resource: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gdp.asp Hot Topic resource: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/29/gdp-us-economic-growth-is-close-tozero.Html Work with Roger: http://rogerwhitney.com/work-with-me/