Steve McDonald: All right, everybody, I’m Steve McDonald. This is a special edition of the Two-Minute Retirement Solution. We’re up here this week in Quebec City in Northern Quebec for The Oxford Club’s Private Wealth Seminar, and I thought since we’ve got honest-to-goodness retired Oxford Club Members, let’s put them on the camera this week and see what they have to say about retirement. You’re probably sick of hearing from me anyway.
You can see behind us is the meeting room. Everybody’s at lunch, so we grabbed the stage for a few minutes while they were all gone. Let’s start with introductions. We have Dave Gagnon from North Palm Beach. Dave, you were a registered rep when you were working, correct?
Dave Gagnon: That’s correct. Yes, I was that for about 23 years and gave – sold my business eight years ago. I’m still in the payout stage for another two years, so you asked earlier about my – a lot of my income is that.
Steve McDonald: Yeah. And also George Motzer from Hamilton, Ohio. You haven’t moved south yet. Why?
George Motzer: Not sure.
Steve McDonald: You like shoveling snow, do you?
George Motzer: Apparently, yeah.
Steve McDonald: Dave, you were in the car business.
George Motzer: Yes. George.
Steve McDonald: George, I’m sorry. Excuse me. How many years in the car business?
George Motzer: Twenty.
Steve McDonald: Twenty years selling –
George Motzer: Dodges and Jeeps.
Steve McDonald: And you owned the –
George Motzer: Owned the facilities and dealership and business with my brother.
Steve McDonald: And what’d you do? Sell it and retire and now you do nothing?
George Motzer: Sold it and retired and now I do nothing.
Steve McDonald: Well, we’re going to put you to work today. All right, let’s start with this. Your biggest challenge prior to retiring and in retiring – in retirement. What were they?
Dave Gagnon: Well, prior to retirement, I wanted to sell my business, which, you know, the challenge was finding someone to buy my business that was reputable, that I felt could relate to my clients and pay me what the business was worth.
Steve McDonald: Now how about in retirement? What do you find most challenging?
Dave Gagnon: Well, I can’t say that I have really challenges. I enjoy retirement. I – managing my money is certainly a concern in retirement, making sure that I can – it lasts as long as I do, and longevity is certainly a concern that I have and so I’m hoping that I can extend my income for a number of years and provide the income that I’m enjoying now.
Steve McDonald: How about you, George? In retirement, what’s your biggest challenge?
George Motzer: In retirement? Well, since I do nothing, other than manage my money, we travel a lot, and we’re RVers. We don’t stay in Ohio in the winter. We go south.
Steve McDonald: Yeah, I had a feeling.
George Motzer: But that’s it, basically, you know, try to –
Steve McDonald: You don’t find you get bored?
George Motzer: No, no. I’m busy, busy, busy. I’m not sure doing what, but I’m busy.
Steve McDonald: Okay, all right. You talked about making your money last. Longevity’s an issue for everybody. How are you diversified? What are you doing to make your money last? Let’s start with you, George.
George Motzer: Well, of course, I have two accounts. I have a regular investment account and I have the IRA, which I manage myself too. I don’t know if should give these guys –
Steve McDonald: That’s all right.
George Motzer: E-trade, give them a pitch, but –
Steve McDonald: I’ll write to them and see if they give me a pitch. How are you spread out?
George Motzer: Well, I’m pretty well – I’m usually about 4% per position in both accounts. There’s a few that I’ve put more into it, like big – well, for instance, the tobacco companies, Boeing (NYSE: BA), but I’m well – they’re –
Steve McDonald: Now, in terms of stock to bonds, how are you spread out?
George Motzer: Oh, okay, stocks to bonds, well, I’m about – in my retirement account, I’m 50% bonds and 50% – well, 40% stocks and 10% cash.
Steve McDonald: Wow, how about you, Dave?
Dave Gagnon: Well, I’m all in stocks. I don’t have any bonds, Steve. Sorry about that.
Steve McDonald: Dave, I’m sorry. You’ll have to leave.
[Laughter]
Dave Gagnon: But I plan on doing so, getting into some bonds again. But I also have some real estate that I am – income properties that I’m active with, and so that provides me with a good part of my retirement income, and I do manage pretty much my own portfolio, you know, which I enjoy doing and so far, thanks to The Oxford Club, it’s been doing pretty well.
Steve McDonald: Doing well with it?
George Motzer: Oh yeah, yeah.
Steve McDonald: Are you buying my bonds?
George Motzer: Yes, yeah.
Steve McDonald: So you’re doing really it.
George Motzer: I’m a believer. I buy the bond –
Dave Gagnon: I’m gonna get cut out here.
[Laughter]
George Motzer: I buy the bonds and I hold them until you tell me to sell them.
Dave Gagnon: Don’t sell.
Steve McDonald: If you could change one thing before you retired and since you retired, what would it be, Dave?
Dave Gagnon: I guess I really can’t think that I – you know, it’s worked out for me pretty well as far as prior to retirement. You know, I brought a gentleman in that ended up buying me out, you know, as I – like we had hoped would happen 12 years before, you know, I retired, and so it worked out pretty well. And after retirement, I guess I wish I would have moved to Florida a little bit sooner, so we’re enjoying our life down there and, you know, playing a little bit of golf, and so that’s working out pretty well.
Steve McDonald: Okay. George? What would you change?
George Motzer: Oh, I don’t know. It went that the buyout for the dealership went fairly well and everything was written, you know, and all the contracts were performed as agreed to and so now it’s just play in the sun.
Steve McDonald: So I think what I hear you saying is, if you do it right beforehand, things afterward are cool.
Dave Gagnon: That’s correct. If you plan, make sure you have enough money and – yeah, I felt pretty comfortable about that.
Steve McDonald: All right, let’s wrap it up. This is your opportunity to give advice to all the Members that watch this. It’s quite a few. What would you tell them to do?
George Motzer: I’d tell them to buy bonds.
Steve McDonald: I swear to you, I did not tell him to say that.
George Motzer: Buy bonds.
Steve McDonald: Dave.
Dave Gagnon: Well, save. I think, you know, I found back when I was – and even today in the financial planning business that people just don’t save and, you know, it’s the amount that new retirees have in savings is very small, you know, not nearly enough to take care throughout the longevity period that we’re having. So it’s save, invest, learn and keep going to school and invest wisely.
Steve McDonald: And move to Florida.
Dave Gagnon: And move to Florida and diversify.
George Motzer: Or at least go south.
Steve McDonald: At least go south. Listen, I want to thank you guys for taking the time. It was really my pleasure. I know you want to hurry off to lunch. I don’t have to eat lunch. Don’t worry about me. And that’s it from Quebec City. For everybody here, for all the Members, we’re having a great time. If you haven’t made it on one of our trips, you’ve got to come along. This is just an amazing place. We got lots of great ones coming up. And that’s it for this week for everybody at the Two-Minute, I’m Steve McDonald. Thank you for being a part of this. We’ll see you next week.