Podcast Extra: Avoiding the October Scaries

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Every October, the ordinary gives way to the eerie when ghosts, goblins, skeletons, and all the things that go bump in the night come crawling out of the shadows. And somehow we're perfectly comfortable opening the door to strangers and giving them candy. But there's another kind of scary that tends to show up around this time of year. You may know it, you may have experienced it, the financial scary. I'm Jim Tarabokian for the Retirement Radio Network powered by Amerilife. As we enter the final quarter of the year, millions of Americans are thinking about the celebrations ahead. But for some, there's another feeling creeping in the uncertainty that comes with their financial lives. NFCC CEO Mike Croxton details to CNBC the financial stress Americans are facing this fall. [00:00:45] Speaker B: There's a tipping point where consumers free cash flow at some point will not amortize their outstanding unsecured debt. And that issue is simply creeping its way up the income and age ranks. And that's really what the forecast is telling us this quarter. [00:01:03] Speaker A: Maybe it's the thought of opening your investment statement after a rough week in the market. Maybe it's an unexpected medical bill. It could be inflation quietly eating away at your purchasing power. Or maybe as retirement gets closer, there's one question that keeps coming back. Will I have enough? Planning for retirement means confronting a future none of us can predict. But even with today's financial environment creating uncertainty, BlackRock's head of retirement Jamie Magera tells CNBC, There can be reason for optimism when it comes to retirement readiness. [00:01:34] Speaker C: What we found this year was some great news, right? People are actually much more confident about their retirement readiness. So 68% of savers think they're on track to to have the retirement that they want, which is great news. Like, they have optimism. They're confident about it. [00:01:50] Speaker A: Maybe there's a lesson behind the financial scaries. The things we don't understand tend to feel bigger when we're standing in the dark. Sometimes the best thing you can do is turn on the light. Take a closer look at your retirement plan. Ask the uncomfortable questions. Understand where your income will come from, what risk you may face, and where there may be gaps because you can't predict everything that lies ahead. But you can prepare for it. And while the ghosts may disappear when Halloween is over, financial uncertainty doesn't necessarily disappear with them. For the Retirement Radio Network powered by Amerilife, I'm Jim Tarabaghia.