Welcome, welcome welcome! It’s 2017 and time to address those retirement goals you’ve been putting off. And I’m here to help. I’m Roger Whitney, otherwise known as The Retirement Answer Man. I’m here every week to help you think through, plan for, and take action toward a better retirement than you can conceive! Well, maybe not that extreme but I do want you to have a happy and healthy retirement that is personally rewarding for you and yours. This podcast is all about that end goal. On this episode, I’ve got a lot to share about where we’re headed in the next year and we talk with our very first participant in the Retirement Plan Live event from a few years ago, Carl. I hope you’ll take the time to listen. I’m now BETTER EQUIPPED to help you with your retirement goals. As I was looking toward 2017 and trying to focus on the things that I believed would help me serve you and my clients better, I decided that I needed to make a huge change in my life. I dropped some of the licenses that I’ve held for over 20 years. Why would I do that? Because now there is a lot less government regulation inhibiting the kind of things I can talk about on this podcast and on my blog. Now I can actually mention common retirement vehicles like "mutual funds" and others. I’m better equipped to help you navigate your retirement goals and am eager to do so. Find out how I do it week to week on this episode of the Retirement Answer Man. Retirement goals are not something you should put off. Most people wait far too long to begin setting retirement goals. It’s easy to think that you have plenty of time but the sad reality of the way life goes is that time sneaks up on you and retirement is here before you know it. You’ve got to start setting goals and reaching for them NOW so that your retirement is a happy, secure, and meaningful one. On this episode, I’m talking with the very first person who participated in my annual Retirement Plan Live event, Carl - and he’s going to share how he’s doing with his retirement plan and the enthusiasm that has come into his life from doing so. You’re going to want to hear this one. How sharing your story could help someone else navigate their own retirement. In this episode of The Retirement Answer Man, I talk with Carl. He and his wife were two of the very first people I worked alongside in my Retirement Plan Live event a few years ago. Carl has begun to share his own story of planning and moving toward retirement in his own blog. What he’s discovered is that his story is beneficial to others who are on the same path he is - and I would venture to say that every one of you has the same ability to impact others with YOUR story. So what are you waiting for? Listen to this episode to find out how you can tell your story among the Retirement Answer Man community and see how it encourages others. Our very first Retirement Plan Live participant is on the way to his retirement goals. Carl and his wife are just a few years away from retirement. They’ve got their retirement goals laid out before them and are systematically ticking them off the list, one at a time. In this conversation, Carl and I talk about their recent move from their long-time home to a cabin in another community 100 miles away. The transition has gone well and Carl points to a few things they did that he believes made the transition less of a hassle than they expected. He also shares how he’s built a “bridge” into his retirement and why he recommends that everyone who is a few years away from retirement do the same thing. Carl’s a wise man and you’ll learn a lot from his experience, so be sure you listen. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN [1:51] My word for the year that I’m going to be focusing on: Focus [1:30] What is YOUR word that you want to focus on this coming year? HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [2:20] Why 2017 is the year the gloves are coming off. [4:15] Why I’ll be talking a bit more freely and why investment management will be a topi