Can you name five investments you own—and explain why you own them? Knowing your account balance is one thing. Understanding how your investments support your future is another.

In Part 1 of “The Big Four,” Planning Made Simple explores four foundational questions every investor should be able to answer:

• What rate of return does your retirement plan need?

• How much income do you need to support your lifestyle?

• What investments do you own, and why are they there?

• What happens to your portfolio and your loved ones when you pass away?

The conversation covers why a retirement nest egg alone doesn’t tell the whole story, how lifestyle creep changes your income needs, and why your holdings should work together as a strategy. We also discuss the importance of asking your advisor questions and understanding what your spouse would be left with.

Try the challenge: write down your answers to all four questions, then review them with your financial advisor.

Subscribe to Planning Made Simple for more conversations about retirement income, investing, and financial freedom. Stay tuned for Part 2: four questions to ask your financial advisor.

Could $600,000 in a Roth IRA be worth more to you than $1 million in a traditional IRA? The answer starts with looking beyond your account balance to what you actually keep after taxes.

In this episode of Planning Made Simple, we explore whether you should convert your pretax IRA to a Roth—and why the conversation goes beyond saving money on this year’s tax return. The team discusses lifetime tax planning, required minimum distributions, conversion timing, and the difference between pretax wealth and spendable retirement income.

Using a hypothetical $1 million IRA example, we unpack the hesitation many investors feel about paying conversion taxes today. We also discuss how retirement withdrawals can interact with Social Security and Medicare costs, how Tax Map models different planning scenarios, and why your decisions can affect the legacy you leave your family.

Subscribe to Planning Made Simple for more conversations about retirement, dividend investing, and making confident financial decisions.

What’s your biggest question about Roth conversions? Leave it in the comments.

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Dividend ETFs may seem like the easy way to generate passive income—but does a high yield tell the whole story?

In this episode of Planning Made Simple, the team compares dividend ETFs with individual dividend stocks, examining income, portfolio growth, reinvestment, diversification, and control. They explain how an investment yielding 5% could ultimately produce more income than one yielding 8% when dividend growth and capital appreciation are included.

You’ll also hear a real-world example of a high-yield dividend ETF that remained nearly flat while individual dividend stocks in the same portfolio experienced significant growth. Plus, the team discusses how reinvesting dividends during a market decline can help investors accumulate more shares and potentially accelerate long-term compounding.

If you’re choosing between dividend ETFs and individual stocks, look beyond the advertised yield. Consider the investment’s total return, dividend growth, underlying holdings, and whether it supports your personal income goals.

Subscribe to Planning Made Simple for more straightforward conversations about dividend investing, retirement planning, and building lasting financial freedom.

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