On this episode of Saving the American Dream, we’re answering your mailbag questions. Let’s jump into it.
Tim asks: “I’m a dentist and thinking about retiring in the next five years, maybe less. I own my building. So would I be better off to sell the building and invest the cash or try to sell my practice to someone else and then rent the building to them?”
It depends on a person’s specific situation, what their goals are, what their needs are, and what their balance sheet currently looks like. Let’s say that Tim is a higher earning dentist and owns the building and his own practice.
He should have a pretty solid nest egg built up, that’s going to be able to produce retirement income for him. It would make a lot of sense for him to sell the practice and then rent the building to them.
If Tim has not built up a solid nest egg, it might be more advantageous to offload the building as well. Or, maybe he shouldn’t retire yet.
Vickie asks “It’s likely my husband and I will be getting a divorce within the next year or two. If we split our retirement assets how will this impact my plan?”
Probably significantly, you are now supporting two households instead of one. Long-term care and health care needs are going to look different.
You are going to need to re-evaluate this and see whether you are able to retire or stay retired. It’s certainly important to discuss this with your advisor.
Sam asks “I have a whole full life insurance policy with a cash value of about $50,000. My kids are grown. Should I cancel the policy and use the cash to pay off my house?”
It’s important you sit down with an advisor you trust to gain a good understanding of where exactly you are inside your whole life insurance policy. There are some options that make premiums cheaper and you keep the death benefit.
Your cash value is part of your overall financial picture. You may be able to structure your investments differently if you keep it.
Listen to the full podcast or use the timestamps below to jump to a specific section.
Navigating the Show
[1:28] – Most epic way someone was fired or quit
[3:43] – Dentist wants to retire
[6:04] – Getting a divorce
[7:17 ]– Whole life insurance
[9:17] – Fun and travel
“A lot of times people underestimate how much money they’re going to be spending in retirement.”
– Michael Schulte