026: How to Plan For the Five Years Before You Retire with Emily Guy Birken

Emily Guy Birken helps people become more financially savvy. She took a year off from teaching when her son was born, and in that time began writing for both Wise Bread and PT Money - and discovered a way to make use of her skills as both a teacher and a finance nerd.

She’s written four books, including The 5 Years Before You Retire, Making Social Security Work For You, Choose Your Retirement, and, most recently, End Financial Stress Now: Immediate Steps You Can Take to Improve Your Financial Outlook.

I’ve been reading her books and blogs for many years, and I’m thrilled to have her on the podcast to discuss her journey into financial education, the common issues and mistakes we both see in so many retirees, and the unique challenges facing individuals as they approach retirement.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• How Emily became an “accidental” financial guru - and how her gap year after giving birth to her son led her to focus on financial education.
• Why it’s so important to dream big and small - and take both the best and the worst case scenario into account - when you plan your retirement.
• The dangers of defining yourself by your career - and how your thinking needs to shift as you approach retirement.
• Strategies to minimize your taxes as you plan to withdraw money from Social Security and Medicare.
• Why so many people lack adequate financial education - and how these perpetuate bad decision making.
• How to create good habits to meet your financial goals.

You can visit Emily here. If you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to rate and review, and send us all your questions at [email protected] - it may become the topic of an upcoming episode!

Interview Resources

• EmilyGuyBirken.com
• Emily Birken on Twitter
• Emily Birken on Facebook
• The 5 Years Before You Retire: Retirement Planning When You Need It the Most
• Making Social Security Work for You: Advice, Strategies, and Timelines That Can Maximize Your Benefits
• End Financial Stress Now: Immediate Steps You Can Take to Improve Your Financial Outlook
• Choose Your Retirement: Find the Right Path to Your New Adventure
• Get What's Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security (The Get What's Yours Series)
• Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
• eMoney Advisor
• Mint
• Digit
• Tiller Money