Transcript

[00:00:00] Intro: Welcome to Retirement Unlocked with Larry Heller, your life, your way, unlimited possibilities. Join us as we explore how tailored financial planning and investments can help you navigate life transitions with confidence. Let’s dive into this week’s episode.

[00:00:20] Bill Tucker: And welcome back to Retirement Unlocked with Larry Heller.

Today, it’s a special episode. This is Larry’s 200th episode of this podcast. When Larry started the podcast, the goal was simple, to help people make better financial decisions as they approach and move through retirement. 200 episodes later, he has had some incredible conversations, worked with amazing clients

In today’s episode, we’re gonna pull back the curtain, sharing how the podcast was started and what we’ve learned along the way, how it’s impacted, the firm, [00:01:00] and where we are headed next. Larry, 200. Man, my friend, that is a- 200th, and I

[00:01:06] Larry Heller: look exactly the same, Bill- I know, it’s beautiful. Look at you … as I did years ago, years ago.

Remember, we only do, like, two podcasts a month, so it’s been a long time- … if you do the math. So, uh, but at the time, it’s flown by, and, you know, I’ve changed a lot since the very first podcast. Very first podcast you couldn’t see my face or your face. Oh, yeah. It was just audio. It was audio only, yep. So, uh, yeah, audio only for the first hundred.

So, uh, but, you know, as we grow, and then video came aboard after, a- a- after 100 episodes, so now we’ve got 100 video episodes that, that we’ve done. So yeah, so I thought it’d be fun to kinda like, kind of, um, go down memory lane, why we started, why we’re doing this, some of the, the most prominent episodes, what’s going on in the future.

200 is not the end. You’re not gonna get rid [00:02:00] of me so quickly. So, uh, we’re gonna continue going, you know, going forward, but it’s been a great run.

[00:02:05] Bill Tucker: Well, that’s good because I don’t think of it … Like, getting rid of you would be a bad thing, okay? I like, I like having our visits, and I, I’m, I’m sure every one of our listeners love visiting with you on all of these podcasts.

So let’s go back to the beginning, Larry. Why- Yeah, so- … did you start this thing?

[00:02:21] Larry Heller: Yeah, so we started it for, you know, for a couple reasons. One, uh, you know, uh, just between all the education that I’ve had and all the client experiences and seeing what people have done wrong more than right or people that have missed and things out there.

So how can we help people out there? Yeah. So really started really kind of more- You know, more of education, which it still is today. I mean, that’s the main kind of focus is really educating, knowledge, providing helpful tips to people, um, especially with a lot of the changes in the tax laws that have, that have happened.

And how do you navigate what has gone on, [00:03:00] not just in your finances and retirement, but your, but your life.

[00:03:03] Bill Tucker: Yeah.

[00:03:03] Larry Heller: So that’s really what, what, what it is, and try to fill the gaps in some of these complex topics and tax planning strategies, and maybe make it a little bit easier to understand. So, you know, those were kind of the, the, the main focuses of this.

Um, and the, you know, the, the commitment was to create something that was consistent, that was even, and a platform for people to, to learn. So, and I think we’ve been providing that place for not only our clients, but for potential people out there that may wanna just enjoy listening to us or may be thinking about coming a- coming aboard.

Um, because really most people don’t… They don’t need products. We’re not about products. We’re really a- about the strategies and understanding the strategies and how that can work and how that can help you at not only in retirement, but save you money

[00:03:59] Bill Tucker: [00:04:00] Yeah. I was gonna say, I know during the, the podcasts that you and I have done together, what you are really good at is you take that complex and those complex issues, you take all the multitudes of f- of financial products that are out there, and you really do bring a better understanding.

You got… You, you don’t, you don’t make them simple. You make them easy to understand, which is fantastic. But 200, Larry. I told you when, right before we started this, most podcasts don’t make it past a handful of podcasts. They don’t make it past four. Wow. You make 200. So my first thought, you know, and I’m sure a lot of people listening to this are wondering, like, where did he come up with all the ideas for a- Yeah, yeah

for 200 episodes?

[00:04:38] Larry Heller: You know, when I f- when I first started, that was kind of my biggest concern. And, and thinking through the, th- through the episode, I mean, I, you know, I’ve had a couple different hosts out there, and Matt was my first host out there. Yeah. I remember kind of talking to him about- “Oh, what are we gonna talk about?

I don’t really have enough co- now I have five or six things that I wanna talk about.” And, you know, I was [00:05:00] worried about really getting the content, but, you know, he, he was right. He was basically, “Oh, you know, it, uh, once you get going, you’ll figure that out,” and he was right. We, uh, n- now have a ton of ideas, and topics, and things to talk about.

So really coming up with the educational topics and what’s timely and out there is kind of one of the reasons why this podcast has gone on because li- uh, like we said before, life changes- Yep … uh, taxes change, um, the strategies change. So we’ve been able to come up with a lot of different, a lot of different content.

Um, I’ve also had some very amazing guests that have helped us with this, um, and being able to find guests that are enlightening that’s kind of really where we started. Of course, you know, coordinating this in a busy schedule has been a challenge- Yeah

and constantly updating it. Like we said before, when we first started, there really was no [00:06:00] YouTube- … um, on, on this, so it was really all audio. But then, you know, adding YouTube, adding all our social media chain, uh, uh, channels to this has really kind of d- you know, de- developed. Uh, so the evolution of content, the quality, and the, and the, and the structure has g- uh, has really evolved from episode one to episode 200.

[00:06:22] Bill Tucker: Yeah. Well, you know, I, I’m a guy who spent, uh, almost four decades in television, and one of the rules in TV, and I suspect you learned this, is- You know, it’s the old thing. First, I- you tell people what you’re gonna tell them, then you tell people the thing you’re gonna tell them, and then you tell it again because, ’cause repetition matters.

You know, you probably have found that to be very true in, in, in a number of these episodes, ’cause things do change, right? Right.

[00:06:50] Larry Heller: Well, there’s kind of two things that, that I’ve learned. One, simplicity wins, right? Because if you, if you’re too technical, someone’s gonna turn off and they’re not gonna be, be there.

Yeah. So like you said [00:07:00] before, being able to not just be simple, but, uh, break it down so the layperson can understand. Right. ‘Cause a lot of times a lot of us advisors, and I’ve sat in with some estate attorneys and they … You know, great estate attorneys, but if they can’t explain it properly, the client’s eyes glaze over.

Same thing for us with our clients. You know, you’ve gotta kind of be able to bring it down to what the client’s gonna understand. Yes. And I try to do that with the podcast, so w- when I’m talking to people, you know, really explain it. So that’s really been the o- one of the things. And the other thing that I think has really helped and people have really enjoyed is, without naming names, but adding in real-life examples.

Yeah. Those seem to resonate with everybody, so they can relate to what’s going on. So, you know, those are kind of the lessons that I think that I’ve learned over the years. Um, but just so you know about what goes on behind the scenes a little bit, it’s not off the cuff. There’s a lot of planning, a lot of scripting, a lot of [00:08:00] re- refining.

We have to stay relevant with all the- Yes … tax law changes that have come. I mean, the biggest one, obviously, was the SECURE Act, and that wa- you know, that, that had a lot of different changes that affected retirement. So but it, it keeps coming. Changes will, w- is gonna be inevitable, and we’ll stay on top of that, and we’ll continue to educate our, our, our listeners.

[00:08:22] Bill Tucker: Yeah, that is fantastic. And you know, you mentioned that when you first started you didn’t have the video component. Now you’ve got the video component and the audio component, so- You get, that’s a sense of how podcasting for you has evolved. Give us some other insights into how this whole thing of the, of Retirement Unlocked, the podcast, evolved for you.

[00:08:44] Larry Heller: Right. I remember the first audio one, yeah, I was definitely nervous- … in what to talk about, but I was like, “Nobody can see me, so, you know, they can’t see my facial expressions- They can’t see me sweating- … of what’s going on.” … and hearing, “Oh, what’s going on?” So I thought I, after 100 of them, I got the audio down and I’m comfortable with that.

And then I’m like, [00:09:00] “Uh-oh, now we gotta go to video.” Oh. So now there’s no hiding behind- … the microphone. They can see you, and they can see your expressions, and they can see what you’re talking about. So, you know, that’s been a change. And, you know, it take a while to get comfortable i- in those. And now I, now I just feel real comfortable behind the, behind the microphone.

So, so, you know, that’s probably a big change. And then really from the social media standpoint, not only do we do these videos, but we do the short content. Yes. It’s more accessible and bite-size, so people can just listen to a little, a little bit, and if they wanna listen to the whole episode, they can. Um, you know, there’s b- obviously a lot of competition in podcasts.

So if we’re not out there producing content that people, people like, so I know that, that it’s out there because there’s a, a lot of different people that, a lot of different podcasts in this top, in this area that people can, people can [00:10:00] listen to.

Well,

[00:10:00] Bill Tucker: I mean, look, when, 200 episodes ago, too, there weren’t a lot of financial advisors doing this. You, you were, you were a pioneer in all of this. There are a lot more advisors now who’ve jumped into this arena.

[00:10:14] Larry Heller: Yeah, no, a- a- absolutely. So, uh, so again, being m- you know, being relevant, being on topic, being, um, you know, easy to understand brings listeners in to really understand, to really enjoy our, enjoy our podcast.

So, uh, so we’ve made it, you know, we’ve structured the episodes. We’ve made it more visual. Um, and I think we’ve added, uh, some l- some visual, um, ex, uh, content recently. Uh, and we continue to, to grow on topics that are geared to different audiences. Obviously, not every topic is gonna be relevant for everybody.

Right. So we try to do ones that we think are going to be, uh, interesting for, for some people, a group of people, uh, and mix it up a little bit. And it keeps it exciting and fresh for me as well. [00:11:00]

[00:11:00] Bill Tucker: Yeah, that is great. Okay, it’s 200 episodes here, Larry, which is a lot of episodes. So I, you know, I’m gonna test your memory here ’cause I’m curious about what are your top performing episodes on YouTube and how, how have, how have things done?

What are they?

[00:11:15] Larry Heller: Yeah. So, you know, so it’s kinda int- you know, kinda interesting what the, you know, what, which ones, and it’s not one spec- specific area. I mean, the, the biggest topic, and every time you throw out, you know, retirement mistakes to avoid, I think I’ve done- The- … a few different podcasts- Mm-hmm

over the, over, over the years. But, um, but I believe episode 177 was re- you know, retirement mistakes to avoid, and that was, that’s always a big, a big topic. Um, and then, you know, w- the one that we just did, uh, you know, literally, I mean, maybe, mm, a few weeks, maybe- Yeah … a couple months ago, uh, really fi- your five year retirement countdown- Oh, yeah.

Yeah … you know, steps to take now, um, episode 195. Um, that really [00:12:00] resonated with people because a lot of people are five years away, and they’re, “Oh, what are the steps that I need to do?” Exactly. So, so, so that was, that wa- that was a, a, a big, um, episode that we, w- that had a lot of traction. But then we’ve also had, uh, you know, some episodes on investing, um, that have gone over well.

I, we, we did one, you know, the managing sequence of return risks. Mm-hmm. Um, how that can impact your, you know, impact your, your retirement. And then one of the, I guess one of the earlier ones on the video side, you know, was a big talk about, you know, the great wealth transfer, and we did kind of a two-part episode on that, um, and all the things that are happening along those lines.

So those are, you know, probably the, you know, the top four that we’ve had on, um, on, on, on YouTube since we went to, uh, that platform.

[00:12:50] Bill Tucker: Yeah. Wow, that is really great. How, how about shorts? How, how does that work, incorporating short form con- content into the podcast?

[00:12:56] Larry Heller: Yeah. Well, short form content has really helped because it, it gets the [00:13:00] word out there because when you, when you’re on YouTube, I don’t know about- you, but most people are there scrolling, they’re scrolling, they’re scrolling.

So they, so you gotta come up with something in a really quick, bite size, less than 30 seconds- Yeah … so they say, “Mm, that’s really interesting.” And then from there, if they wanna hear more, they’ll go and listen or watch the full podcast. So that’s really, you know, that’s really, you know, really helped. Uh, and some of the shorts, again, you know, on retirement, you know, are you spending too little in retirement?

Um, um, because w- what we found over the years, believe it or not, most people spend too little in their re- in, in retirement.

[00:13:39] Bill Tucker: Sure. Um,

[00:13:39] Larry Heller: and then, you know, what- Well, most people are afraid

[00:13:41] Bill Tucker: they’re gonna run out of money. Exactly. So that,

[00:13:43] Larry Heller: that, that was an interesting podcast. And then, you know, six silent threats to your retirement.

And, uh, oh, you wanna test if you’re ready in retirement. So a, a lot of good shorts that have been out there. Um, and, you know, retiring [00:14:00] soon? Don’t mess up your withdrawal strategy. So, so knowing kinda what you’re, what you’re doing and how to do that, um, it has really, you know, been helpful on the YouTube shorts to get more traction and get more people to watch the full episode of the podcast.

[00:14:17] Bill Tucker: Do you have any insight on why, what, what, well, why do you think they performed well? What was the big, what, what’s the big thread that ties them all together? I,

[00:14:25] Larry Heller: I, I think, you know, one, you know, the, it’s geared to a little bit maybe more of the, the baby boomer audience, which is a lot of people, you know, age s- 55 to 75- Yeah

is probably what we’re geared towards. Um, but I think there are two things. I think the topics are extremely timely. We give actionable, you know, we don’t give specific, um, recommendations, but we’re giving actionable ideas to think about and things to discuss. And, uh, we’re giving real examples, and we’re showing how to solve some real financial fr- real financial concerns.

[00:15:00] So y- you know, most of the episodes really weren’t the most complex, but they were the most practical.

[00:15:07] Bill Tucker: Yeah. I mean, we’re back to the, what you mentioned it up at the top. It’s that you take complex things and you break them down so that people can understand them. And when people understand them, they understand their practical application because most people, when it comes to money, they like being practical here, I think probably.

Uh, what have you learned, uh, uh, ’cause retirement’s a big, a big topic, a big reoccurring topic. What have you, what have you learned about retirement planning over these 200 episodes?

[00:15:35] Larry Heller: Yeah, and so, I mean, a few of the things that we’ve learned just from, you know, our clients and podcasting, um, and what we’ve, we- we’ve heard back is, you know, retirement is, is more about cash flow than net worth.

Uh- Yeah … because somebody can have a, a lot more money, but they spend a lot more money. Uh, so retirement is really about planning for, you know, for cash flow. Uh, and then taxes. Mm-hmm. I mean, [00:16:00] that’s the biggest- Kind of concern. A lot of people have very large 401s or IRAs- Mm-hmm … and, uh, don’t realize the tax ramifications about, about that.

Um, so taxes is one of the big, biggos. And then planning is kind of ongoing. It’s not a one-time event. Um, but you’re not just planning for this current year, you’re planning and looking decades, um, ahead because you wanna kinda see what your tax brackets are and you wanna kinda see what your cashflow is gonna be to know what, what you want.

So planning is, is probably the, one of the critical ones. And then again, we’ve talked about clarity, simplicity- Yep … and having a plan because they make better… That, that provides better outcomes than someone doesn’t have a plan. So, uh, those are kinda the top four and probably, you know, one of, one of my favorite topics to talk about, and we- we’ve done a couple of these episodes, is on what we call our, our reservoir strategy, showing where [00:17:00] you should be, um, investing your money in retirement- Mm

and how to draw down from that so you don’t have to worry when we have these wild downswings in the market. So episode 119 if you wanna go back and listen to the reservoir strategy. So those are m- some of the main items that we have learned along the way.

[00:17:19] Bill Tucker: I would imagine after 200 episodes and everything that you’ve been talking about, Larry, you, you, you m- might feel a little bit of gratitude.

I’m kinda curious if that’s the case.

[00:17:31] Larry Heller: Yeah, no. I, I mean, I, I’m very appreciable. I’m very appreciable that people are, you know, watching, listening, like I said before, giving me feedback on how much they, you know, that they enjoyed that podcast- Yeah … or, or they may say, “You know what? I didn’t know that,” or, “Yeah, that’s a great idea.

We should talk more about that.” So here, getting that feedback really makes this really r- rewarding So [00:18:00] I’m very grateful for that. I’m grateful for all the subscribers. By the way, if you haven’t subscribed, you can go right onto the, the YouTube website and, and subscribe so you won’t miss any m- you won’t miss any episodes.

Yes. Um, and, you know, j- I’ll just throw out a number or maybe I’ll ask you to guess, Bill, if you haven’t seen, is like how many views do you think we’ve had on podca- on YouTube since we’ve gone on? Oh, man. You’ve been on it 10 years? It’s probably less on YouTube. We were on video, but I’m not su- we were on somewhere else before we were on YouTube.

Okay

[00:18:33] Bill Tucker: So. Uh, you had 100 episodes.

[00:18:37] Larry Heller: I, I, I don’t know. I, I don’t know. We’re closing, we’re closing in on 50,000 views. Wow. So, uh, so a lot of people. We know a lot of views. That keeps inc- increasing. So, so, you know, I wanted to thank our longtime listeners. I really appreciate all the feedback, the emails, the co- the comments.

Um, and, you know, we’ve [00:19:00] done- Um, you know, we’ve done a lot of o- you know, audio, uh, people that have listened, so I wanted to thank basically all the listeners. I also wanna thank all the guests that have been on the podcast. We’ve had, you know, dozens and dozens of guests over the years. So, uh, they’ve been r- really have added to the podcast and mixed it up a little bit, so, you know, y- uh, y- we have a little bit of a banter going back and forth with the guests.

So, so thank you to the guests, thank you to the, to the listeners. I really appreciate it.

[00:19:29] Bill Tucker: All right. We promised them this in the beginning, so it’s time, Larry. What is next for Retirement Unlocked?

[00:19:36] Larry Heller: Yeah, I mean, n- nothing really different. We’re gonna stay the course. It’s worked so far. We’re gonna continue to focus on education first content.

We’re gonna continue on talking about topics such as investments and retirement and tax and planning. Um, we’re gonna stay ahead of any of the changes that may be coming, um, a- and continue to talk about, you know, talk about that. Um, and we’re [00:20:00] gonna m- the, the show is definitely gonna progress. As, uh, as many of you know, w- we, we’re now part of Savant Wealth Management.

Yeah. So we’re gonna kind of figure out and maybe use some of that and go forward. And so we’re gonna evolve that way, So, uh, so those are some of the things that are, that are, that are c- coming up. Um, we’re, we’re looking ahead.

You know, episode 200 isn’t the finish line, it’s just a checkpoint.

[00:20:30] Bill Tucker: Yeah, and, and I’m glad, because I enjoy these visits with you. I enjoy this podcast. I think it is a practical, good, interesting podcast, especially for people who I think come, come to pod- financial advisor podcasts looking for things they don’t understand.

They, they’re like, “I’m confused.” And I think that, you know, over these 200 episodes, your evolution has been to be better even at making them understandable. Not simple, because some of these things are not simple. [00:21:00] But you make them understandable. Congratulations, Larry. I mean, truly, genuinely, it’s an outstanding milestone, and I think it is fantastic, so congratulations to you.

Great. Thanks so much, Bill. And you know what, listeners? Thank you for being part of this journey. Whether you’ve listened to one episode, this one, or if you’ve been listening for all 200. If you’ve been listening for all 200, we love you. Thank you. And spread the word, if you will. If this podcast has helped you think differently about retirement, share it with someone that could benefit.

And if you’re approaching retirement and you want some clarity around your plan, your cashflow, your taxes, your long-term s- long-term strategy, well, Larry is here to help. You can schedule a complimentary 20-minute call- with our team. And as always, thank you for listening to Retirement Unlocked.