Many people quietly wonder if they’re doing retirement “right,” especially around the holidays. So in this episode, Certified Retirement Counselor Mark Struthers puts a seasonal spin on some of the most common retirement behaviors he sees every day. Using a “naughty or nice” framework, Mark explains why certain choices—like holding too much cash, blindly following rules of thumb, or chasing the latest hot investment—can quietly undermine long-term outcomes.
Listen in to hear how small shifts toward intentional decision-making can reduce anxiety, improve predictability, and help you move more of your retirement choices onto the “nice” list. You’ll learn the strategies that often allow retirees to spend more, as well as habits that support more confident, flexible, and enjoyable retirements.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why most retirement mistakes come from defaults rather than bad decisions.
- How excess cash can feel safe while quietly eroding purchasing power.
- Why flexible spending strategies often allow retirees to spend more, not less.
- How tax planning before retirement can create long-term freedom.
- Why chasing market winners increases concentration and emotional risk.
- The importance of aligning investments with real-life goals instead of headlines.
- Why retirement works better when it’s treated as a beginning, not a finish line.
Ideas Worth Sharing:
- “Most mistakes when it comes to financial planning or even retirement aren’t bad intentions — they’re bad defaults. They are mistakes of not making some effort to make an informed decision.” – Mark Struthers
- “Too much cash will put you on the naughty list because inflation will erode and destroy the purchasing power of that cash.” – Mark Struthers
- “Money without meaning only lasts for so long… After a certain point, money does not buy happiness.” – Mark Struthers
Resources:
- Work with Mark Struthers
- Subscribe to our Healthy & Wealthy newsletter: Subscribe here
- Ep. 47: Don’t Let FOMO Destroy Your Nest Egg: NVIDIA, Concentration Risk, and Retirement
- Ep 43: Medicare Changes 2025: What Retirees Need to Know About the One Big Beautiful Bill
- Ep. 42: Rethink Retirement: How Green Light Spending Beats the 4% Rule
Disclosure:
Investment advisory services are offered through Sona Financial LLC (DBA Sona Wealth Advisors, Sona Wealth, Sona Wealth Management), an investment adviser registered in the state of MN. Sona Financial only offers investment advisory services where it is appropriately registered or exempt from registration and only after clients have entered into an investment advisory agreement confirming the terms of engagement and have been provided a copy of the firm’s ADV Part 2A brochure and document.
This video or article is for educational purposes only and is not exhaustive. Nothing discussed during this show/episode should be viewed as investment advice. Diversification and/or any strategy that may be discussed does not guarantee against investment losses but is intended to help manage risk and return. If applicable, historical discussions and/or opinions are not predictive of future events. The content is presented in good faith and has been drawn from sources believed to be reliable. The content is not intended to be legal, tax, or financial advice. Please consult a legal, tax, or financial professional for information specific to your individual situation.
This content has not been reviewed by FINRA.