Our Financial Lives as Mount Everest I look at our financial lives as a long journey that has peaks and valleys throughout. I often use Mount Everest as a metaphor to illustrate that point. If you think of your retirement day as reaching the top of your personal Mount Everest, the rest of your life is the descent. Unfortunately, most people's retirement plans fail after they retire, or on the way down from the mountain. In some ways, it's easier to get to retirement, or go up the mountain, than to stay retired. If you make a mistake getting to retirement, what do you do? You keep working. You planned to go out at age 55, that's not looking so good anymore, so maybe 65, or maybe 75. If you make a mistake after retirement, what happens? You run out of money. Every successful summit of Mount Everest uses a Sherpa to guide them up, and back down the mountain because they are the world's best mountaineers. In retirement, it's very much the same. The guide who helped you climb the mountain, may not be the best one to lead you down. This is why you need a financial Sherpa guide, one who can steer you away from danger and towards your ultimate goal of a successful retirement.
Author Biography
Dan White is a Retirement Income Planning Specialist and the founder of Daniel A. White & Associates, LLC. Daniel A. White & Associates, LLC was founded in 1987 and specializes in addressing the distinctive financial needs of those nearing retirement and those who have already retired. Today, they have more than 50 years of combined financial experience and expertise and serve more than 600 clients across the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. Dan is a member of the Society of Financial Service Professionals (FSP), Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), The National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors (NAIFA), and The Independent Excellence Group. Dan has an MBA in Finance, is a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (CHFC), and a Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP). As a highly regarded professional in the industry, Dan has been published both nationally and locally in Fox Business, Forbes, CNN Money, U.S. News & World Report, Market Watch from Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Business Journal, The Delaware County Daily Times, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
