Retirement Red Zone: The 20-Year Game Plan (From the 20 to the Goal Line) đ
You canât âcramâ for retirement. Thatâs not a planâthatâs a Hail Mary with a flat football. In this video, I (Nick St. George, CFPÂŽ) lay out a clear, yard-by-yard blueprint from 20 years out to 24 months before retirementâso youâre not guessing at the goal line.
What youâll learn
How to set your savings rate, kill high-interest debt, and build smart tax buckets (pre-tax, Roth, brokerage)
When to use Roth strategies, avoid concentration risk, and optimize benefits (HSA, ESPP, deferred comp)
How to defend against sequence-of-returns risk and start income design early (pensions, RSUs, options)
Why Social Security timing (62 vs. FRA vs. 70) is a math problem, not a vibe
How to Save for Your Kids and Your Retirement (Without Losing Your Mind or Your Money)
Letâs play a game: Youâve got one dollar.
đź Your kid wants to go to college (and preferably not be buried under student loan debt). đ§ Youâd like to retire someday without eating cat food.
So… who gets the dollar?
Welcome to one of the most commonâand emotionalâfinancial dilemmas: Do I save for my kidâs future or secure my own retirement?
Hereâs the answer: đ You can do both. You just need a strategy that doesnât come from the back of a cereal box.
1. Secure Your Oxygen Mask First
You know the airplane analogyâand itâs true. If youâre not okay financially, your kidâs future isnât either. Prioritize building your retirement foundation first. Your kids can get scholarships, part-time jobs, or choose a more affordable school. But thereâs no financial aid for retirement (unless your kid becomes a billionaire and returns the favor).
2. Automate Both Goals (Even If It’s Uneven)
Donât overthink perfection. Set up automatic contributions to your retirement and a 529 or custodial account for your child. Even small, consistent contributions compound over timeâand you wonât have to decide which goal wins every month. Youâre funding the future on autopilot.
3. Donât Guilt-Trip Yourself
This isnât a competition of love. Choosing to prioritize your long-term stability doesnât mean you donât care about your kids. It means you want to avoid becoming a financial burden on them later. (And letâs be honestâtheyâre already going to blame you for something, might as well not add âfinancial stressâ to the list.)
đď¸ Give the full audio a listenâI unpack this balancing act with a dose of real talk, some strategy, and a little humor (because letâs face it, finances can be stressful enough without sounding like a spreadsheet).
Remember: đĄ Youâre not choosing between your future and theirs. Youâre building a plan where everyone wins.
Letâs un-eff your financesâone smart move at a time.
What’s the secret sauce for building wealth while juggling life’s chaos?
Nick St. George from St. George Wealth Management kicks off the latest episode of Un Eff Your Finances with an engaging discussion on the importance of a structured financial plan for busy executives and business owners. With a mix of humor and expertise, he breaks down why starting early is key, the risks of an unstructured approach, and how failing to plan is essentially planning to fail. This episode dives into the mindset of strategic achieversâthose who are too busy to manage every financial detail but want their money to work just as hard as they do.
Nicholas discusses:
(00:02:22) Strategic financial planning for busy professionalsÂ
(00:04:20) The importance of starting retirement savings earlyÂ
 (00:06:13) Real-life investment missteps and successes
(00:12:27) Creating a flexible financial game planÂ
(00:20:03) The role of a financial advisor in managing emotions and legacy planningÂ
How can you keep your cool when financial chaos hits? Tune into this episode where Nicholas St. George dives into the financial blunders you didnât know you were making and how to fix them with simple, practical advice.
In this episode, Nicholas tackles some of the common financial mistakes people face when managing their money and how to sidestep them. From the pitfall of lending retirement money to grown-up kids to the trap of watching your account balance every day â Nick shares the details with a blend of humor, real stories, and no-nonsense advice.
Nicholas discusses:Â
(01:19) Why lending money from your retirement savings to adult children might not be such a great idea
(04:58) The pros and cons of checking your account balances too often
(09:07) The importance of regular portfolio rebalancing
(12:29) How comparing your investments to your friends and familyâs can lead to trouble
(17:07) Keeping emotions in check during market fluctuations
Feel the financial frenzy but want to keep it mellow? Tune in and start un-effing your finances today!
