The $172,000 Retirement Surprise (And Exactly How to Avoid It)
Your Money Guide on the Side
Intro
Tyler Gardner opens the episode, previews topics, and announces his new book and pre-order incentives.
Pre-Order Tyler's First Book, Real Wealth, here & be immediately eligible for exclusive bonuses between now and December 1st!
April Bonus: Free two-hour digital live event on Wednesday, May 6th from 7-9pm EST, where Tyler will answer the most commonly asked questions and walk through what you can expect from the book!
And as always, a MASSIVE thank you to this week's sponsors:
Thrive Market: Get $20 off your first three orders plus a FREE
$60 gift if you order at thrivemarket.com/tyler today.
Facet: find out why I have been endorsing Facet for over 18 months now by checking out facet.com/tyler. They are a one-stop shop for financial planning, investment management, tax strategy, and retirement planning. And best part: it's all for one flat annual membership fee.
And on to the show notes!
No one wants to think about long-term care.
Which is exactly why most people don’t plan for it.
In this episode, Tyler tackles one of the most uncomfortable — and most overlooked — parts of financial planning: what happens if you live long enough to need care.
Because longevity is a gift.
And financially, it’s also a risk.
In this episode, Tyler covers:
- The reality that ~70% of people over 65 will need some form of long-term care
- What long-term care actually means (it’s not just nursing homes)
- The real costs — from home care to assisted living to memory care
- Why long-term care is separate from normal retirement planning
- The four ways to pay for it: self-insuring, Medicaid, traditional insurance, and hybrid policies
- Why Medicare doesn’t cover what most people think it does
- How to estimate your true long-term care exposure (and why it can reach seven figures)
- The biggest mistakes people make — including relying on kids or “figuring it out later”
Tyler also lays out a clear, practical framework:
Understand your numbers.
Decide who pays.
And make the decision before you need it.
The core idea:
A retirement plan isn’t complete until it answers one question — what happens if care is required?
Because this isn’t just a financial decision.
It’s a decision that affects your spouse, your kids, and how the last chapter of your life actually plays out.
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Hope this gives you something to think about this week.
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