Money Guy Show: "X% of Americans Will NEVER Retire… featuring Erin Talks Money!"

Hosts: Brian Preston & Bo Hanson
Guest: Erin from Erin Talks Money
Release Date: August 29, 2025

Overview

This episode dives deep into the retirement crisis in America, exploring why a huge percentage of Americans fear they may never be able to retire. Special guest Erin from Erin Talks Money joins Brian and Bo to unpack key findings from a JP Morgan study on retiree spending habits and to offer practical, actionable advice for building wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving a fulfilling retirement. The conversation demystifies financial planning, highlights the importance of behavior and consistency, and urges listeners to view money as a tool for living a purposeful, happy life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Scale and Universality of Retirement Anxiety

[00:00-01:29]

• Nearly 70% of Americans don't think they'll ever be able to retire.
• Misconception: This is not just a Gen Z or Millennial problem—1 in 4 adults over 50 feel the same way.
• Noteworthy stats:
  • 55% of Gen X don't expect to retire.
  • 1 in 3 Millennials aren't confident about retirement.
  • 44% of Gen Z feel behind in retirement savings.

Quote:

"It feels like this is a universal struggle that everybody's kind of nervous about." — Brian [01:04]

2. Lessons from JP Morgan’s Retirement Study

[01:29-03:23]

• Time is Your Biggest Asset:
  Start early—even small contributions compound exponentially over decades.
  • Investing $200/month from 25–35 ($24,000 total) = ~$293,000 at 65.
  • Investing $200/month from 35–65 ($72,000 total) = ~$250,000 at 65.
  • The most powerful outcome comes from starting early and staying consistent: from 25–65, $200/month = nearly $600,000.

Quote:

"Even little sacrifices can create huge results." — Brian [02:32]

3. “Choose Your Hard”—The Power of Early Discipline

[03:23-05:45]

• Saving is difficult when young, but becomes exponentially harder if delayed:
  • At 20, save $95/month to become a millionaire.
  • At 30, must save $340/month.
  • At 40, must save $1,052/month.

Quote:

"You choose your hard. I know that you're broke in your 20s, but it doesn't take just pennies on the dollar. Literally will do more by putting that money to work." — Brian [05:05]

4. Remove Friction & Automate Good Habits

[05:45-07:13]

• Use automation: direct deposit savings, employer retirement matches.
• Create “scarcity” by allocating pay raises to investments upfront—make saving the easiest habit and bad habits (like overspending) harder.

Quotes:

"Make the good habits as easy as possible and the bad habits that much harder." — Brian [06:35]
"Just set it up so it's a percentage of your pay." — Erin [07:02]

5. Save Early, Save Often—and Put Money to Work

[07:13-08:53]

• Saving is not enough—money needs to be invested to grow (don’t let cash pile up idle).
• Highlights use of their “Wealth Multiplier” tool: e.g., $1 at age 20 can become $88 at retirement; at 40, only $7.

Quote:

"The best time to start investing was yesterday. So absent that, the second best time is right now, today." — Bo [08:53]

6. Consistency is Key—The Danger of Trying to Time the Market

[09:19-11:19]

• Example: $10,000 invested in the S&P 500 from 2005–2024:
  • Stay invested: Grows to ~$72,000 (10% annualized).
  • Miss the 10 best days: Drops to ~$33,000 (6% annualized).
  • It’s nearly impossible to “miss only the bad days”—best and worst days often cluster.
• Key behavior: Invest steadily; avoid panic-selling in downturns.

Quotes:

"To be a good investor you get to be lazy. You just have to set the behavior of saving and investing and then just grin and bear." — Brian [10:31]
"Trying to get in and out is just, it's a fool's game." — Erin [11:11]

7. Don’t Quit During Downturns—Focus on Process (“Always Be Buying”)

[12:03-14:21]

• Most new investors lose motivation or quit in their first market downturn. The answer is automation and emotional discipline.
• Use simple, diversified vehicles like target retirement index funds to remove decision stress and allow for “blind” consistent investing.

Quotes:

"None of this works without the consistency." — Brian [12:56]
"In the beginning, we get the good legs, we get the good glutes, you put the work in, you hang in there, you don't bail." — Erin [13:09]

8. Focus on What You Can Control

[15:08-17:38]

• JP Morgan's framework:
  • Can control: How much you spend, save, and where you put your dollars.
  • Cannot control: Market returns, tax policy, legislative changes.
• Behavior outweighs external risks; financial headlines often distract from what actually matters.

Quotes:

"Tighten the bolts of your financial plan before you start blaming the wind." — Bo [17:09]
"Your behavior is most likely the biggest difference maker in your financial outcome." — Bo [17:19]

9. Match Savings Rate to Life Stage—But Never Too Late to Start

[17:53-18:59]

• Check savings rate benchmarks relative to your age and adapt accordingly.
• Saving 25% of gross income from your 30s onward will often be enough for a strong retirement—but urgency increases with age.

Quote:

"We have something, we're an open tent, big umbrella here. If you're somebody who discovers this and you're in your 40s or 50s, it doesn't mean your opportunities passed you by. It just means you might need to save a little bit more." — Brian [18:38]

10. Tactics: Three-Bucket Tax Strategy & Index Fund Simplicity

[19:58-23:26]

• Asset location:
  • Pre-tax buckets: (401k/traditional IRA) — best for ordinary income-taxed assets.
  • Tax-free buckets: (Roth IRA/HSA) — maximize growth-oriented assets for tax-free compounding.
  • After-tax (brokerage) accounts: Useful for flexibility, bridging to early retirement, lower taxes on dividends/capital gains.
• Use index funds and, for simplicity, target-date funds (from providers like Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity) to automate asset allocation and “glide path” to retirement.

Quotes:

"It's not just about your taxes today, and it's not just about your taxes in retirement. If you utilize these buckets throughout... you can lower your lifetime tax bill and you get to keep more." — Erin [21:13]
"It's about setting up a system that allows you to be consistent." — Bo [24:46]

11. Money Is A Tool—The PUSH Principle for Fulfillment

[25:17-28:45]

• Money, at its core, should enable what matters: purpose, use, socialization, and health ("PUSH Principle").
• Retirement is not “the end,” but another life phase. Enjoy life’s milestones now; don’t delay all happiness for the future.
• Connection, meaning, and health are as important (or more) as net worth.

Quotes:

"Money is nothing more than a tool that allows us to focus on the things in this life that truly matter." — Bo [25:17]
"If you think you’re gonna hike that mountain when you’re 60, it’s probably not going to be as easy as you think it is. So get out there, make sure you're maximizing every decade." — Brian [27:16]
"If you’re not hiking the mountains at 30 and 40, you’re not going to be doing it at 60." — Erin [28:31]

12. Know Your Why—Personalize Your Financial Journey

[28:45-30:34]

• True fulfillment is about understanding your unique goals, not simply following “what you're retiring from” but focusing on “what you're retiring to.”
• Don’t pattern your plans after neighbors or social media trends.

Quote:

"Make sure... the financial decisions that you're making both during your working years and even your retirement years reflect the things that actually matter to you." — Bo [29:12]

13. Health is Wealth—Personal Story

[30:34-31:49]

• Erin shares a personal health scare (brain tumor as a teen, living with epilepsy), highlighting the foundational importance of health and community support—without which, financial success is meaningless.

Quote:

"When those seizures happen, I get my reminder that it does not matter. Like, if I don't have friends, if I don't have, like, a rock solid group to lean on, if I don't have my health, none of it matters." — Erin [31:22]

Notable Quotes

• "You get to choose your hard." — Bo [03:31]
• "Put the blinders on." — Erin [11:11]
• "Don’t skip leg day." — Brian [13:16]
• "Wealth is a tool. It cannot be the driver of who you are." — Brian [27:42]
• "Wasting time can be even more expensive than wasting money." — Bo [30:24]

Calls to Action & Resources

• Use the Wealth Multiplier Calculator and savings rate charts at [moneyguy.com/resources].
• Check out Erin’s channel: Erin Talks Money on YouTube.
• Download the free Retirement Guide for personal financial planning steps.

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00] — How many Americans can't expect to retire
• [01:29] — The value of starting early: compounding examples
• [03:23] — “Choose your hard”: saving early vs. later
• [05:45] — Friction reduction and automation tips
• [07:13] — Investing vs. just saving, the Wealth Multiplier
• [09:19] — Consistency, market timing, and emotional discipline
• [13:09] — “Don’t skip leg day”: the discipline of investing
• [17:09] — Focus on what you can control
• [19:58] — Tax strategies for retirement accounts
• [22:21] — Evolution of index investing, target-date funds explained
• [25:17] — Money as a tool: the PUSH principle
• [30:34] — Erin’s health journey and why health is wealth

Final Thoughts

The episode ends with encouragement to leverage free resources, focus on long-term behaviors over financial headlines, and remember that money serves a greater purpose—empowering a life filled with purpose, connection, and wellness. The message is clear: whether you’re 20, 40, or 60, it’s not too late to take positive steps—but the sooner you start, the greater your financial and life outcomes.