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.
What kind of retirement spender are you?
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ You probably know what kind of investor you are. But do you know what kind of retirement spender you are? This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about that question. The financial industry spends plenty of time discussing investment profiles and risk tolerance. Those matter, but they don’t fully answer two questions people have heading into retirement: How much can I spend? And what type of income experience do I want to have? Some people want a predictable monthly...
I realized something this week...
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ I realized something this week... I don't know if I've ever properly introduced myself. I've written hundreds of blogs, made hundreds of videos, and sent quite a few of these emails over the years. But somehow I kind of skipped the whole “Hi, I'm Matt” part. 😂 So... Hi, I'm Matt. About 18 years ago, at 21, I stumbled into an unpaid financial planning internship. Yes, you read that correctly. I voluntarily chose to work an entire summer for approximately $0 (give or...
Why the 70-Page Financial Plan Is Dying
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ I think the future of financial planning is incredibly bright. Not because technology is going to replace financial planners. Because it’s going to eliminate a lot of the work that gets in the way of actually helping people make better financial decisions. Think about how much of traditional financial planning has involved gathering statements, collecting account balances, inputting data, updating spreadsheets, building projections, and manually trying to piece together...
Which Account Should You Spend From First 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 of the most common questions I get is “Where do I spend money from first in retirement?” It’s a great question because the order in which you spend your money can have a massive impact on your lifetime tax bill. And minimizing that tax bill means more money to spend, or leave behind to loved...
The Retirement Risk that Compounds Every Other Risk
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. Most retirees are worried about losing money in the market. And understandably so. Once the paycheck stops and you begin withdrawing from your investments, a major market decline can have a much bigger impact than it did while you were still working and saving. But there’s another retirement risk...
11% More Retirement Spending + 40% Higher Projected Wealth
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. This week’s case study is one of the best examples of my overall retirement planning philosophy in action. The goal isn’t simply to maximize returns. And it isn’t simply to create as much guaranteed income as possible. It’s to build a retirement plan with enough predictability and dependable income...
My Good Friend's Wedding Got Me Thinking...
Happy Friday Reader ☀️ One of my best friends in the world got married on Monday and it really got me thinking. My friend Josie knew what kind of wedding she wanted. She wanted an outdoor wedding, in the mountains, alongside a beautiful river (not sure if she knew there would be 30-pound turkeys running around, but they were there). She wanted messy BBQ, not an expensive five-course meal. And she specifically wanted her dad to walk Hank (her dog) down the aisle (with him standing proudly in...
Retire at 60 or Wait Until 65?
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. Retirement planning gets much more interesting when you stop looking for a single “right” retirement date. For most people, there isn’t one. There’s usually a range of outcomes depending on: how long you work how much you save and how much you want to spend in retirement I recently modeled this for...
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...
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.