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MDRN Wealth

Fee-Only Fiduciary Financial Planner, Tax Advisor & Investment Advisor Specializing in Retirement & Early Retirement Planning

10/31/2026

Your retirement budget is probably wrong. Here's why 👇

Most people assume their monthly spending will stay steady or slowly climb with inflation throughout retirement.

But JP Morgan studied the actual banking and credit card behavior of real retirees, and what they found flips that assumption on its head.

Real retirement spending doesn't go up over time. It drifts downward. Most retirees aren't even keeping pace with inflation, and by their 90s, they're spending about 30% less than they did in early retirement.

There's another layer to this: early retirement spending tends to be volatile. Big swings from year to year are the norm, not the exception. Around 63% of newly retired people experience this. But when you zoom out over a 20, 30, or 40-year retirement, the overall trend curves downward.

If your retirement plan is built around a spending number that keeps climbing year after year, you may be overestimating what you actually need, and that could be costing you years of your life that you could have spent retired.

Watch to see what your spending curve might actually look like, and what that means for when you can afford to stop working.

Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority. Additional information available on SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. CRD number: 323177. Fee-only disclosure: compensation comes solely from transparent fee charged — no commissions, no hidden incentives.

MDRN Wealth LLC is a financial advisor serving professionals and business owners who want to retire early.

10/30/2026

$2M saved and still scared to retire? Here's why. 😳

It's more common than you'd think. After decades of treating 401(k) and IRA money as completely untouchable, many people reach retirement age and still can't bring themselves to actually use it.

Researchers studied nearly 600 bank customers and found something that might surprise you. The biggest factor in how financially secure people felt wasn't their income, their debt load, or the size of their investment portfolio.

It was cash on hand.

For early retirees especially, having two to three years of projected expenses sitting in liquid, accessible accounts, like a high-yield savings account, money market fund, or short-term CDs, can make the difference between hesitating and actually pulling the trigger on retirement.

The math matters, but so does the psychology. People are far more willing to make that leap when they can see a visible cash cushion ready to go.

And if you're tempted to take that cash reserve and wipe out your mortgage instead? Research suggests that move could leave you feeling more financially anxious, not less, because you're trading liquidity for equity you can't easily access.

Sometimes the smartest retirement move isn't a higher return. It's simply having enough cash on hand to know you'll be okay.

Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority. Additional information available on SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. CRD number: 323177. Fee-only disclosure: compensation comes solely from transparent fee charged — no commissions, no hidden incentives.

MDRN Wealth LLC is a financial advisor serving professionals and business owners pursuing early retirement.

10/29/2026

JP Morgan found 6 retirement spender types. Which are you? 👀

Most financial plans assume retirees spend at a flat, predictable pace. But data from thousands of actual retirees tells a very different story.

JP Morgan tracked spending behavior during the first three years of retirement and compared it to the year before people stopped working. What they found surprised a lot of people in the financial planning world.

Only about 18% of retirees fit the "steady" mold that most retirement software is built around.

The rest? A significant majority experienced real spending volatility, sometimes 20% swings or more in a single year. Big trips, a new car, unexpected home expenses. Life doesn't follow a spreadsheet.

In fact, roughly 60% of retirees fell into categories with noticeable spending fluctuations during those first few years.

The good news: that's completely normal. Spending volatility in early retirement isn't a warning sign. It's just how retirement actually works for most people.

The takeaway for anyone planning ahead: a rigid monthly budget often isn't the right tool. A flexible "guardrails" approach, with a spending range rather than a fixed number, tends to reflect reality much better.

Don't let the fear of unpredictable spending hold you back from retiring on your terms.

Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority. Additional information available on SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. CRD number: 323177. Fee-only disclosure: compensation comes solely from transparent fee charged — no commissions, no hidden incentives.

MDRN Wealth LLC is a financial advisor serving professionals and business owners who want to retire early.

10/24/2026

That Roth conversion advice could cost you thousands 👀

A popular retirement planning tool told one of my clients that Roth conversions would save them $330,000 in taxes. I'm going to show you why that recommendation was actually going to hurt them.

The tool suggested converting IRA funds up to the 22% tax bracket for eight consecutive years. On the surface, it looks like a no-brainer. But dig deeper and the break-even point on that strategy lands at age 81.

By age 74, this client would have paid $242,000 in conversion-related taxes. Without any conversions? Just $123,000. That's $119,000 in extra taxes paid before they ever see a dime of benefit.

And here's what almost none of these tools account for: ACA health insurance subsidies.

This client retired at 56, well before Medicare kicks in. Without conversions, their taxable income sits around $23,000 a year, which qualifies them for about $192 a month in premiums with low deductibles. Add the aggressive conversion strategy, and their income balloons to $139,000, wiping out roughly $15,000 in tax credits and pushing premiums to $1,300 a month on a plan with a much higher deductible.

That's a real, immediate cost the software never flagged.

Could the strategy technically pay off if they live into their 90s? Possibly. But planning for retirement means planning for the life you're actually living today, not a best-case scenario three decades from now.

Generic advice and automated tools don't know your full picture. The details matter.

1) 'Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training.' 2) 'The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority.' 3) Additional information available on SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. 4) CRD number: 323177. 5) Fee-only disclosure: compensation comes solely from transparent fee charged — no commissions, no hidden incentives.

MDRN Wealth LLC is a financial advisor serving professionals and business owners who want to retire early.

10/23/2026

Most early retirees get this wrong 👇

Everyone focuses on the financial side of retiring early — the investments, the tax strategy, the withdrawal plan. And yes, all of that matters.

But after working with hundreds of people through early retirement, the biggest predictor of whether someone thrives or struggles has nothing to do with their portfolio.

It comes down to whether they retired TO something or just ran away FROM their job.

The happiest retirees had their next chapter figured out before they ever left. One client retired and started playing music part-time at his church while spending more time with his grandkids. Another finally launched the consulting business she'd been dreaming about for years. They weren't escaping. They were stepping into something.

The ones who struggled? They were burned out and bolted. No plan for what came next. And without that, even financial freedom can feel surprisingly empty.

Here's why: for most high achievers, identity and career are deeply linked. When work disappears overnight with nothing to replace it, the void is real.

You can absolutely be sick of your job AND retire to something. Both can be true. But you can't just run away and expect the rest to sort itself out.

So before you retire, ask yourself: what am I retiring TO?

1) 'Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training.' 2) 'The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority.' 3) Additional information available on SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. 4) CRD number: 323177. 5) Fee-only disclosure: compensation comes solely from transparent fee charged — no commissions, no hidden incentives.

MDRN Wealth LLC is a financial advisor serving professionals and business owners pursuing early retirement.

10/22/2026

50% consider it. Only 8% actually do it. Here's why. 👇

At an early retirement planning firm, we analyzed our own client data to see how often Roth conversions are discussed versus how often they're actually executed.

Half of clients come in with Roth conversions already on their radar. About a third have it flagged as something to revisit. But only 8% ever actually complete a conversion.

That gap surprises a lot of people, so here's what's really going on.

If you retire before 65, you're likely buying health insurance on the open market. Roth conversions increase your taxable income, and that increase can drive your premiums up significantly. For many early retirees, that cost alone is enough to make the conversion math not work.

There's also the upfront tax bite. A Roth conversion means writing a check to the IRS today for a benefit that may not pay off for years. Not everyone has the appetite, or the cash, for that.

The honest truth is that the stars need to align: the right tax bracket, willingness to absorb higher insurance costs, and enough runway ahead for the conversion to actually pay off.

Most people should at least think about Roth conversions. But thinking about it and doing it are very different things.

1) 'Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training.' 2) 'The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority.' 3) Additional information available on SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. 4) CRD number: 323177. 5) Fee-only disclosure: compensation comes solely from transparent fee charged — no commissions, no hidden incentives.

MDRN Wealth LLC is a financial advisor serving Professionals and business owners who want to retire early — well before the traditional retirement age of 65. Clients are typically high earners navigating the complexities of their working years or transitioning to retirement. They have a minimum of $500,000 in investable assets (not including real estate), are not DIY investors, and value expert guidance because retirement is too important to leave to chance. They are based across the U.S., with MDRN Wealth serving clients nationally from its Los Angeles/Scottsdale base.

10/17/2026

Billionaires use this to avoid taxes. You can too. 💡

It's called Buy, Borrow, Die, and it's not just for Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

Early retirees with appreciated stock in a brokerage account can set up a securities-backed line of credit using their portfolio as collateral. You don't have to touch it, but it's there when you need it.

The real power? When you need income flexibility in early retirement, you can borrow against your investments instead of selling them. No sale means no capital gains event. No capital gains event means no tax bill.

Think less yacht, more practical. Like covering an unexpected car replacement without liquidating a single share.

It takes some setup to do it right, but for early retirees with the right type of accounts, this strategy can be a game-changer.

Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority. Additional information available on SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. CRD number: 323177. Fee-only disclosure: compensation comes solely from transparent fee charged — no commissions, no hidden incentives.

MDRN Wealth LLC is a financial advisor serving Professionals and business owners who want to retire early — well before the traditional retirement age of 65. Clients are typically high earners navigating the complexities of their working years or transitioning to retirement. They have a minimum of $500,000 in investable assets (not including real estate), are not DIY investors, and value expert guidance because retirement is too important to leave to chance. They are based across the U.S., with MDRN Wealth serving clients nationally from its Los Angeles/Scottsdale base.

10/16/2026

Waiting until 70 for Social Security might be a trap 👀

If early retirement is your goal, the advice to delay benefits as long as possible could actually be working against you.

Here's what most retirement calculators miss:

When you retire in your 50s, your portfolio carries the full load until income kicks in. That can push withdrawal rates to 7-8% during those early years. Starting Social Security at 62 takes significant pressure off your savings right when it matters most.

There's also a psychological factor that never shows up in the math. Knowing a steady income stream is coming gives many people the confidence to actually retire, rather than delaying indefinitely because the numbers alone don't feel like enough.

And here's something worth considering: your 60s are your "go-go years." Data shows retirees spend the most during this phase, when they're healthy, active, and ready to enjoy life. Taking benefits sooner puts more money in your pocket during the years you're most likely to use it.

Delaying until 70 maximizes your lifetime benefit on paper. But if you want to retire early and make the most of it, earlier benefits might serve you far better.

1) 'Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training.' 2) 'The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority.' 3) Additional information available on SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. 4) CRD number: 323177. 5) Fee-only disclosure: compensation comes solely from transparent fee charged — no commissions, no hidden incentives.

MDRN Wealth LLC is a financial advisor serving professionals and business owners who want to retire early.

10/15/2026

Wealthy investors quietly upgraded this strategy 👀

The traditional Buy, Borrow, Die playbook had a real problem: borrowing against your brokerage account through margin or a securities-backed line of credit could cost you 10 to 11% in interest, and in most cases, that interest wasn't even deductible.

So high-net-worth investors found a better way.

It's called a box spread, and it allows you to borrow from the options market instead. Current rates through this approach run around 4.8 to 4.9%, which is already a significant improvement. But the real kicker is how the IRS categorizes it: the interest is treated as a capital loss on your tax return.

For someone in a high tax bracket, the effective borrowing cost drops even further once you factor in that tax benefit.

And here's what surprises most people: you don't need to be Bezos or Musk to use this. If you have roughly $100,000 to $150,000 in a non-retirement brokerage account, this strategy could potentially work for you.

Buy, Borrow, Die isn't dead. It just got smarter.

1) 'Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training.' 2) 'The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority.' 3) Additional information available on SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. 4) CRD number: 323177. 5) Fee-only disclosure: compensation comes solely from transparent fee charged — no commissions, no hidden incentives.

MDRN Wealth LLC is a financial advisor serving Professionals and business owners who want to retire early — well before the traditional retirement age of 65.

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