The Black Oak Podcast
Check Out Our Latest Episode
So You've Been Named Executor — Now What?
Just been named executor of a will? Here are the common first steps, from getting death certificates and locating the will to updating beneficiaries, and where a financial advisor can help. Being named the executor of someone's will can feel...
More Episodes
Questions Worth Asking About Your Financial Future
Talking about money can be hard for some people, and sometimes it just takes the right question to get things rolling. Ryan goes over a few today that he thinks are worth asking. None of these questions are really about...
When I Retire, I Will... A Financial and Life Planning Conversation
There's a 7-minute animated short that got nominated for an Oscar this year called Retirement Plan. It's free on YouTube, narrated by Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson, and it follows a middle-aged man named Ray who spends his days listing eve-rything...
Can You Retire Before 59½?
If you’re ready to leave your career but think your retirement accounts are keeping you trapped, you may have more options than you realize. Ryan answers a listener question from a 56-year-old who wants to retire after 25 years with...
Ron's Story: He Planned to Retire at 67. Then He Lost His Job at 64.
Today, Ryan walks through a potential retirement story in chapters. As each new detail comes in, he’ll react to it the way a financial advisor would in a real-time meeting. Ron's 64, figured a lot of this out on his...
My Parents Are Gifting Us Money. What Should We Do With It?
Receiving a financial gift from your parents can create a great opportunity, but also plenty of questions about what to do next. Ryan walks through several ways families might use gifted money and explains why the intentions of the person...
Holding Serve: Tennis Lessons for Your Money
The 146th US Open tennis tournament gets underway at the end of August, so Ryan figured it was a good excuse to see what tennis can teach us about financial planning. Turns out, more than you'd think. Every great tennis...
Keep It or Toss It? A Financial Document Checklist
Somewhere in a drawer, a filing cabinet, or a shoebox in the closet, most of us are holding onto financial paperwork we don't actually need. And we’re probably missing a few things we do need. Ryan sorts out what stays,...
Why People Keep Working In Their Retirement Years
More people in their 60s and 70s are staying on the job than ever before, and it's not always about the money. Today, Ryan digs into the real reasons retirees keep showing up to work. Working longer isn't automatically the...
The Most Common Financial Pain Points
When it comes to financial planning, everybody has something that bothers them. Today, Ryan’s walking through some of the most common pain points we see and the real conversations that happen around them. Nobody walks into retire-ment without at least...
The DIY Retirement Plan — Where It Works and Where It Gets Expensive
There's an entire television network dedicated to doing things yourself — home renovation, landscaping, interior design, all of it. And the DIY mentality is genuinely admirable. But when it comes to retirement planning, Ryan says that the stakes of a...
The 5 D's of Retirement Planning
According to a recent Kiplinger article, there are five keys to a retirement plan that hold up over time. They all happen to start with the same letter, which either means it's a great framework or someone really wanted it...
The 4% Rule vs. the 8% Rule: What's the Right Withdrawal Rate for You?
Dave Ramsey has built one of the most recognized brands in personal finance. Millions of people have followed his ad-vice out of debt and into savings. But when it comes to how much you should pull from your retirement accounts...
The Problem With Financial Research Today
Financial information has never been more available — TV, podcasts, YouTube, Reddit, and now AI that will answer any question in about three seconds. And yet some of the worst financial decisions we see come from people who did a...
