#134 - Is Economic Growth Always A Good Thing?

 Economic growth is always a hot topic when election year rolls around. The candidates make it sound like a lack of growth is the worst thing that could ever happen during any President’s term. But is that true? And furthermore, are there actually benefits to having times of economic slowdown or even recession? On this episode of The Retirement Answer Man, I’m answering a handful of listener questions and one of those asks this exact question, “Is economic growth always best for the country?” If you want to hear why I think this listener could be onto something, you’ll have to listen to this episode of the podcast. Nature isn’t always in growth mode, why should the economy always be in growth mode? Part of my philosophy about what we should look for in a healthy economy has to do with the natural cycles that happen all around us. I don’t see many really good things that are always in a state of incredible growth. Every year the seasons change and most plants and even some animals go dormant for a season. It’s a time to refresh, rest up, and reset for a period of rapid growth ahead. Is it possible that a healthy economy is going to have those same up and down times? If so, why should we be so concerned about it? On this episode, you’ll get to hear me wax philosophical about such things and give you some mindsets you can carry into those less than optimal economic times. What to be careful of when combining IRA accounts As most of you know an IRA is a type of investment account that’s referred to as a “qualified plan.” It means that the government has qualified it as an investment you can do where the growth it experiences is tax deferred. It’s a benefit to you in many ways - but that’s not the issue I’m addressing at the moment. Right now I want to point out that if you move money that’s already in an IRA into a different IRA, you need to be careful how you do that. If you don’t you could cause yourself some tax consequences that you didn’t expect and definitely don’t want. I’m going to walk you through it in this episode - including some new guidelines from the IRS that make it a bit easier for you. Should you quit a job you hate or wait it out for the sake of your pension? Most of us know what it’s like to feel stuck in a job that makes you feel miserable. But one of my listeners has it really bad because she’s only a handful of years away from retirement, which would provide a fully vested pension. But she’s not sure if she wants to endure more years of a job she really hates. How should you make a decision like that? As you might suspect I’ve got some thoughts on the situation - and I share them on this episode of The Retirement Answer Man. How would it impact your life if you could invest in deep work? One of the things I’ve been learning lately is that I can be a pretty distracted guy. My smartphone notifications, email sounds, computer pop-ups - all of them contribute to me being “off task” more than I would like. Toward that end, I’ve been reading a book called, “Deep Work” by a guy named Cal Newport, and it’s challenged me to rethink the priority that I give to insignificant little things like smartphone notifications. On this episode, I want to share my thoughts with you about how we can get out of the “Pavlov’s dogs” cycle of responding to every notification and focus more on the things that matter. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN [0:28] What should we be thinking about a slowing economy?  WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SEGMENT [3:10] What is an “IRA Rollover?”[4:05] The importance of understanding the tax “gotchas” relating to rollovers.HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [6:20] New IRS guidelines for IRA rollovers.PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [8:53] QUESTION ONE: What are the issues to consider when dealing with a job we don’t love?[12:26] QUESTION TWO: Is it always best for us to have economic growth?[15:03] QUESTION THREE: Should I combine all of my IRAs?[17:48] QUESTION FOUR: Should my wife and I have different financial planners?[19:49] A love-hate relationship I have with writing and publishing (and my upcoming book).[21:10] How you can get my “6 shot Saturday” emails (and give your ideas for titling my new book).THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [21:36] What IS deep work?TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [23:08] A day challenge: Turn off the notifications on your smart device so you can focus on what’s important. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Contact Roger: http://www.rogerwhitney.com/retirementanswers/BOOK:  Positive Intelligencewww.CareerPivot.comBOOK:  Deep Work