Become the CFO of Your Personal Finances: 3 Questions Every Confident Retiree Asks Before Retiring
If your household were a business, would it be profitable?
I've seen many business owners with spotless financials at their company, but their personal finances can tend to be a mess. And that's a real retirement risk nobody talks about. Not your investments, not your savings.
It's your cash flow.
Meet Jim, a 63-year-old business owner who just sold his company. Three million dollars in the bank, a small mortgage, living the dream with his family. Or so he thought.
The first year of retirement, he burned through $210,000. Not because he was reckless, but because he had no idea how much his lifestyle really cost. Jim thought he was supposed to be having fun in retirement, but he felt financially insecure.
After working together, his mindset changed. He learned that he needs to run his personal finances like a CFO runs a business. And you should too.
The CFO Mindset for Retirement
When it comes to budgeting, you need to think of yourself as the CFO of "You, Incorporated."
You have your revenue (income), your expenses (lifestyle), and a runway (retirement horizon). So how do you build a system that keeps You Incorporated profitable for 30-plus years of life without a paycheck?
Here are three questions every confident retiree answers before leaving work for good.
How much income do I actually need to maintain my lifestyle in retirement?
Most people think they're going to spend 70 to 80% of their pre-retirement income based on a rule of thumb. Jim thought the same thing, but he was wrong.
In reality, his expenses were 92% of his working income.
Why? Because he started traveling more, gifting more, eating out more, paying all his health insurance costs, and he forgot one big villain: inflation. Having fun can be expensive.
So what would a CFO do here?
They would create predictability by tracking every dollar for at least a year before retirement.
When I work with clients moving toward retirement, I create a cash flow statement for today and another projecting expenses in retirement. We analyze expenses at least one year prior to the retirement date. The projected numbers won't be 100% accurate, but it creates expectations and makes spending thoughts more intentional rather than random.
Creating models like this helps you stay on track for not spending down your assets too quickly, or even more importantly, not spending enough in the years when you have the energy to have fun and create memories.
Understanding Retirement's Three Phases
Retirement isn't flat. It comes in three phases:
Go-go years:
Early retirement where you focus on activities you won't be able to do when your body makes it difficult. Think travel with lots of walking, hiking, road trips, active time with grandkids. These activities can be expensive, but you're exchanging money for memories.
Slow-go years:
Aches and pains make those active pursuits more difficult. Spending gets cut while you live a slower lifestyle focused on maintaining health and relationships.
No-go years:
You focus on family, friends, and recalling memories. Healthcare expenses rise to surprising levels, so it's good that you focused on expenses early to have enough money for care while avoiding leaving negative legacies to your heirs.
Can my retirement budget handle market crashes and unexpected costs?
Imagine retiring and in the first six months, you encounter a market crash that wipes out 30% of your portfolio.
This is called sequence of return risk.
So what would a CFO do?
They would run multiple scenarios before encountering them called stress testing. They'd look at best case, worst case, and most likely scenarios.
I use siloing as a strategy so my clients' entire nest eggs aren't impacted by market conditions. You have growth assets for long-term goals, balanced assets for midterm goals, and conservative investments to handle a few years of expenses.
This means reassessing your silos every year to make sure you have the necessary cash available so you aren't panicking and selling stocks low, then jumping back in when they're high.
How do I avoid running out of money in retirement?
Cash flow is the heartbeat of retirement security. Positive cash flow isn't optional.
It's your retirement oxygen.
How does a CFO keep the retirement heart beating strong?
Automate your monthly cash flow reviews using software or working with a financial planner like me.
Break down expenses into essentials, lifestyle, and dream tiers. Just like fixed, variable, and R&D costs for a business.
Think of this like a cardio workout. Your heart needs constant attention and exercise. Tracking expenses and making adjustments is your cardio. It doesn't have to be intense, but consistency creates good results.
A Lifeline for Your Family
Your cash flow statement isn't just for you. It's a lifeline for your executor or power of attorney.
Think of them as your business partner. If you're in the hospital, your partner needs to manage the bills.
Would you rather hand them a clean list of income, subscriptions, and auto payments, or chaos?
The Charlotte Connection
Working with clients across the Carolinas and nationwide, I see the same pattern: those who treat their retirement like a business are the ones who sleep well at night. They become the CFO of their future.
Using the CFO mindset, Jim turned things around and started treating his retirement like a business. He became the CFO of his future, and you can too.
Remember, your family is your most important business. Run it like one.
Questions answered in this article:
Q: What does it mean to think like a CFO about retirement?
A: It means treating your personal finances with the same strategic planning and cash flow management that a Chief Financial Officer would use to run a successful business.
Q: How much of my pre-retirement income will I need in retirement?
A: While rules of thumb suggest 70-80%, some retirees actually need 90-95% of their working income due to increased healthcare costs, travel, and lifestyle inflation. Some may need less but you’ll never know until you roll up your sleeves and truly understand your spending behaviors.
Q: What is sequence of return risk?
A: It's the risk of experiencing poor investment returns early in retirement when you're withdrawing money, which can permanently damage your portfolio's ability to recover.
Q: What are the three phases of retirement spending?
A: Go-go years (active, higher spending), slow-go years (moderate, health-focused spending), and no-go years (lower activity spending but higher healthcare costs and gifting).
Q: How can I stress-test my retirement plan?
A: Work with a Certified Financial Planner™ to run multiple scenarios including market crashes, inflation, and unexpected expenses to ensure your plan can handle various economic conditions.
Q: What is investment siloing?
A: It's a strategy of dividing your portfolio into different buckets: growth assets for long-term goals, balanced assets for mid-term needs, and conservative investments for short-term expenses.
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The information contained herein is intended to be used for educational purposes only and is not exhaustive. Diversification and/or any strategy that may be discussed does not guarantee against investment losses but are intended to help manage risk and return. If applicable, historical discussions and/or opinions are not predictive of future events. The content is presented in good faith and has been drawn from sources believed to be reliable. The content is not intended to be legal, tax or financial advice. Please consult a legal, tax or financial professional for information specific to your individual situation.
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