Matthew R. Harris
I help individuals and families confidently transition from saving for retirement to living in retirement by coordinating investments, Social Security, tax-efficient withdrawal strategies, and guaranteed income into a personalized retirement income plan.
Retiring Before 65? What About Health Insurance?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Welcome back to Safe Money Weekly, where I share retirement income planning strategies, case studies, and ideas to help you retire with more confidence and less uncertainty. One of the most common questions I hear from people considering early retirement is surprisingly simple: “What do I do about health insurance before Medicare starts at 65?” For some people, this is actually one of the biggest things keeping them from retiring earlier. How Do Early Retirees Actually...
Is Every Dollar in Your Retirement Portfolio Doing the Right Job?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Welcome back to Safe Money Weekly, where I share retirement income planning strategies, case studies, and ideas to help you retire with more confidence and less uncertainty. I've received quite a few messages recently from people who've been following my content for months, and in some cases years, all asking a similar question: "How should I actually structure my retirement portfolio?" It's a great question because retirement planning isn't just about choosing...
What Actually Happens When We Chat Retirement?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Welcome back to Safe Money Weekly, where I share retirement income planning strategies, case studies, and ideas to help you retire with more confidence and less uncertainty. I've received quite a few messages recently from people who've been following my content for months—even years—asking the same question: "What actually happens if I schedule time to chat retirement with you?" The answer is much simpler than most people expect. Our first conversation isn't about...
What Can You Actually Control in Retirement?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Welcome back to Safe Money Weekly, where I share retirement income planning strategies, case studies, and ideas to help you retire with more confidence and less uncertainty. One thought that has been on my mind this week: We spend far too much time worrying about things we can't control. No one can control what the stock market will do next month. We can't predict inflation, interest rates, changes to tax laws, or when the next recession will occur. Yet those unknowns...
What Would Help You Sleep Well at Night?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Welcome back to Safe Money Weekly, where I share retirement income planning strategies, case studies, and ideas to help you retire with more confidence and less uncertainty. The Three Questions That Should Shape Every Retirement Plan For years, the retirement planning conversation has started in the same place: “How should I invest my money?” I actually think that’s the wrong first question. Before we talk about investments, asset allocation, or even annuities, I think...
The Mindset That Built Your Wealth Isn't the One You'll Need in Retirement
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Welcome back to Safe Money Weekly, where I share retirement income planning strategies, case studies, and ideas to help you retire with more confidence and less uncertainty. The Mindset That Built Your Wealth Isn’t the One You’ll Need in Retirement Most of us spend 30 or 40 years learning how to build wealth. Save consistently. Invest for long-term growth. Ignore short-term market volatility. Stay the course. For most people, that’s exactly the right mindset. In fact,...
Could You Retire 3 Years Earlier Than You Think?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Welcome back to Safe Money Weekly, where I share retirement income planning strategies, case studies, and ideas to help you retire with more confidence and less uncertainty. One of the most common questions I hear is: “When can I retire?” But there is a better question you can ask: “How much income can my assets safely and predictably generate?” I recently worked with a 59-year-old couple who had always planned to retire at age 65. They had done an excellent job...
Building Wealth is One Challenge. Spending It Is Another.
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Welcome back to Safe Money Weekly, where I share retirement income planning strategies, case studies, and ideas to help you retire with more confidence and less uncertainty. Building Wealth Is One Challenge. Spending It Is Another. Most people think retirement begins on the day they stop working. I don't. I believe retirement actually begins about five years before your retirement date. Because that's when the objective starts to change. For decades, retirement planning...
Would Your Retirement Survive the Great Depression?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ Imagine retiring at age 65 with a $3 million portfolio... Then, within a few years, your portfolio falls to roughly $1 million. Would your retirement plan survive? Most people assume that if their portfolio lost two-thirds of its value, their retirement lifestyle would need to be cut by two-thirds as well. But that's not necessarily true. One of the biggest misconceptions in retirement planning is confusing a portfolio decline with an income decline. A retiree's...
We Have $1.5M Saved. Why Can We Only Spend $5,000/month?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ This week, I shared a case study involving a 64-year-old couple with roughly $1.5 million saved for retirement. Their advisor recommended spending about $5,000/month from their portfolio. The recommendation was based on traditional retirement planning concepts like: ✅ The 4% Rule ✅ Monte Carlo Analysis ✅ Static spending assumptions None of these tools are inherently bad. But they often answer a very different question than retirees are actually asking. Most retirees...
I help individuals and families confidently transition from saving for retirement to living in retirement by coordinating investments, Social Security, tax-efficient withdrawal strategies, and guaranteed income into a personalized retirement income plan.