Podcast Summary: Ready For Retirement

Episode: When Money Isn’t Enough: The 5 Types of Wealth You Need Before Retiring
Host: James Conole, CFP®
Date: August 19, 2025

Main Theme

In this episode, James Conole explores a holistic approach to retirement planning by discussing the concept of the "five types of wealth," inspired by Sahel Bloom’s book. Rather than focusing solely on financial metrics, James and co-host Erin encourage listeners to weigh other forms of wealth to create a truly fulfilling and secure retirement. They share stories, practical advice, and reflective prompts to help listeners maximize not just their financial return, but their overall return on life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Limits of the Financial Scorecard

• Financial modeling as a trap: Many clients, even when financially set for retirement, hesitate due to the draw of higher earnings, bonuses, or stock vesting—sometimes staying in high-stress jobs longer than necessary.
  • "Every time we ran their numbers, it made sense for them to continue working. The more you work, the higher your probability of success. But at what cost to your time, to your health, to your relationships?" (A, 00:00)
• The seduction of tangible progress: The financial scorecard is “so tangible” that it provides immediate feedback and reward, making it an easy default, but potentially at the expense of other important life areas.
  • "There's this very tight feedback loop of I'm very quickly rewarded..." (A, 04:12)

Introducing the Five Types of Wealth

James references Sahel Bloom's concept, breaking wealth into five categories:

1. Financial Wealth
2. Time Wealth
3. Social Wealth
4. Mental Wealth
5. Physical Wealth

• "There are five types of wealth. And financial wealth is one… but there's also time wealth, there's social wealth, there's mental wealth, there's physical wealth." (A, 04:51)
• Non-financial wealth becomes more important as you age, even though it's much harder to quantify.
  • "They are no less important and I would argue actually increasingly more important the older you get." (A, 05:21)

Understanding Trade-offs and Opportunity Costs

• Financial decisions often come at the expense of mental, social, or physical well-being.
• Erin advises reframing the narrative around financial gains enabling other forms of wealth, and instead recognizing every choice as a trade-off.
  • "If I work late night this week, I've now lost the dinner opportunity with friends... It's not just that the finances enable you to do the other ones, but they also come with that trade-off." (B, 07:00)

Practical Ways to Rebalance

• Set rules and boundaries: Erin shares how she installed a hard stop at work, putting her phone away at 5 pm to prioritize her family and relationships.
  • "My spouse comes home, my son comes home, my phone goes away... That to me has been so rewarding with my family and it pays back in dividends." (B, 08:16)
  • "It was so easy for years to say, oh, we'll do vacations later... But now, whether it’s the nicest vacation or not, we schedule it." (B, 09:04)
• Realization as a financial advisor: James had to learn the job isn’t solely about solving math problems; it's about helping clients reshape their lives and identities for retirement.
  • "This is so much deeper than just a financial thing. This is really an identity thing in a lot of ways." (A, 10:35)

The Challenge of Delayed Feedback from Non-Financial Wealth

• Gains in health, relationships, or mental well-being can't be measured instantly, unlike financial ones.
  • "If I work more hours, I immediately get a bump in my paycheck. But if I skip going to the gym this week, that doesn’t show up in my health… But do that for ten years or twenty years, it's going to show up, but there's a delay to it." (B, 12:07)

Investing in All Areas of Wealth, Consistently

• Relationships and joy into retirement require steady investment, not just later-life splurges.
  • "If you neglect your family for the first 15 years...those vacations...are going to be very lavish... but it’s not going to be any type of fulfillment or joy or the type of loving experience you want." (A, 12:58)
  • "You can’t make new old friends. You only get a chance for someone to know you when you were 20 or 30 and 40 by showing up every single year..." (B, 14:11)

Defining "Enough" Requires Self-Reflection

• James emphasizes that knowing when you have "enough" isn't just about numbers; you need self-awareness, found through journaling, meditation, and intentional quiet.
  • "I don't think you can do this unless you know thyself. And what this comes from: journaling, meditating, being quiet." (A, 16:13)
  • Suggests asking: "What will my future self thank me for?" and structuring actions today to align with that future.

Building Practices for Presence and Purpose

• Erin shares about doing long runs to check in with herself, suggesting everyone find ways to unplug and reflect on what matters.
  • "For me, it's... I go on long runs and I run for like an hour... it gives me a mental break... and I feel like I better nail down what I want to go after in life in those moments." (B, 18:41)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On optimizing for what matters:
  "My encouragement to people is never stop optimizing. But ask yourself what you’re optimizing for. Are you by optimizing for your financial wealth, totally obliviating or just totally ruining your ability to optimize for your relational wealth, your mental wealth, your physical wealth, your time wealth?" (A, 10:35)
• On old friends and investing time:
  "You can't make new old friends. You only get a chance for someone to know you when you were 20 or 30 and 40 by showing up every single year in this relationship." (B, 14:11)
• On knowing yourself:
  "I don't think you can do this unless you know, you know thyself... We live in such a culture... their attention is being pulled at or controlled in many different directions. And you never actually get to the sense of what do I actually want to do?" (A, 16:13)
• On financial wealth as the bedrock:
  "It's not a 99% success score on your Monte Carlo. It's not a certain net worth. It's a life well lived. And that covers all these things broadly with the financial wealth being the bedrock that supports it all." (A, 20:44)

Practical Takeaways

• Balance the five scorecards: Rather than just updating your “net worth” projection, create a self-assessment for all five types of wealth and evaluate where you need to invest more effort.
  • "Maybe it is worth writing out these different categories... and giving yourself some kind of score... maybe you score yourself 1 out of 10. You can say where you need to kind of focus a little bit more." (B, 20:01)
• Establish boundaries and rituals: To rebalance, set rules for work/life separation, schedule time for relationships and health, and protect reflective space.
• Begin now, not later: Invest in relationships, health, and personal growth now, rather than waiting for retirement.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00] - The financial scorecard trap and real client story
• [04:12] - The tangible reward of finances vs. less quantifiable types of wealth
• [07:00] - Financial trade-offs and opportunity costs
• [08:16] - Erin’s boundary-setting example
• [10:35] - Identity, fear, and the deeper challenge in leaving work
• [12:07] - Delayed gratification in non-financial types of wealth
• [14:11] - The irreplaceable value of long-term relationships
• [16:13] - The challenge of defining “enough” and practices for self-reflection
• [18:41] - Rituals for personal clarity: journaling, running, unplugging
• [20:01] - Actionable advice: Scoring yourself on each type of wealth

Closing Encouragement

James and Erin urge listeners to take time for self-reflection and define true wealth for themselves, beyond just the numbers. Financial wealth matters, but its purpose is to enable a rich, balanced, well-lived life.

"The sign of a good financial plan is a life well lived." (A, 20:44)

Listen to the full episode for more personal stories and actionable strategies to retire with true wealth in all areas.