Unlock the secrets to a fulfilling retirement with Shawn Maloney of Retire Wise, as he guides us through the intricacies of crafting a personalized retirement plan that caters to both your financial and emotional well-being. Ditch the cookie-cutter approach and discover how to incorporate your unique retirement 'why' into a strategy that encompasses everything from the accumulation phase to the distribution phase of your funds.
Join us for a candid conversation with Shawn, where he shares his own transformative journey from a finance graduate to the founder of Retire Wise. Learn about the common misconceptions within the financial industry and why partnering with a fiduciary like Shawn can make all the difference in navigating the complexities of retirement. This episode isn't merely an introduction to Shawn's services—it's an enlightening masterclass in retirement planning, designed to equip you with the knowledge to retire wisely and well.
Unlock the secrets to a fulfilling retirement with Shawn Maloney of Retire Wise, as he guides us through the intricacies of crafting a personalized retirement plan that caters to both your financial and emotional well-being. Ditch the cookie-cutter approach and discover how to incorporate your unique retirement 'why' into a strategy that encompasses everything from the accumulation phase to the distribution phase of your funds.
Join us for a candid conversation with Shawn, where he shares his own transformative journey from a finance graduate to the founder of Retire Wise. Learn about the common misconceptions within the financial industry and why partnering with a fiduciary like Shawn can make all the difference in navigating the complexities of retirement. This episode isn't merely an introduction to Shawn's services—it's an enlightening masterclass in retirement planning, designed to equip you with the knowledge to retire wisely and well.
Speaker 1:
This is the Good Neighbor podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Stacey Grizzly.
Speaker 2:
Hello friends and neighbors, Welcome to North Atlanta's Good Neighbor podcast. Today we're here with Sean Maloney with RetireWise LLC. Hey, Sean, how are you?
Speaker 3:
Hey, stacey, doing great Thanks for having me on today.
Speaker 2:
Oh, so excited to have you on. Sean is going to be our new feature sponsor in Dunwoody Neighbors Magazine, so I'm really excited to be working with him. This won't be his last appearance with us, so this will be the first of many. So I'm really excited to introduce his business to all of you today, and we'll start with that. So, sean, go ahead and tell us. Tell us about RetireWise LLC.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I appreciate it. So we obviously, our name being RetireWise we specialize in retirement planning and what I like to let people know is that it's really a personalized, holistic planning and that may sound a little cliche-ish, but it's just not the financials, it's the non-financials as well. So everybody needs a complete plan and we like to look at it holistically with you and account for all the different aspects. You know the accumulation phase and the distribution phase, what your retirement? Why is we just put that all together, work with you. Every retirement plan is different. It's not a one size fits all, so we personalize it for everybody.
Speaker 2:
Well, that's great. Yeah, it's definitely not a one size fits all. I would imagine that's great that you customize, make their personalized plan and work with the client. So well, tell us about your journey into this business. What led you to start this company?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, it's been an interesting journey. So, you know, actually, long year, many years ago, went to school, you know, for finance and investing and all those different kinds of things, and, like a lot of us in life, we end up doing something that you didn't want to do right out of college, with your career, with your degree, right. So I actually graduated, got a big job with a great big brokerage house in Atlanta and, long story short, my parents moved away. In this job you don't really make money for the first six to nine months, right, so I couldn't accept the job. I had a good job to make money, right. So I went away to go work in banking.
Speaker 3:
Long story short is, I went along a journey for several years in an industry that I didn't really want to be on and eventually, you know, it just really knotted at me that I wasn't really doing what I really wanted to do. I was doing it on the side a little bit and thankfully, some circumstances came their way that I was able to turn my side gig, if you will, into a full time job with my company and I found retire wise, been doing it for, you know, a couple of decades now, and I just saw that there was a really big need for the type of planning that we do, and you know, I worked for a corp for a while. But being by myself not by myself now, but as an independent company gives us the flexibility to do what we want to do for our clients. So I was able to jump off and start my own firm.
Speaker 2:
Well, are there any myths or misconceptions about your industry, Sean, that you would like to clear up with our listeners today?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, you know there's, there's some people that are leery of the financial sector, right, and I would just I say that you know, we're not all created equals. Let's just put it that way. Right, you know there's some people out there that, like in any industry, give people, you know, the wrong impression or the wrong idea. You know, for us we're we're fiduciaries. We have the best interest of our clients in mind, not seeking what's best for us or the companies or anything like that. And you really have to look for someone that is in that realm, that has an ethical standard. It's a fiduciary that's going to work on the behalf of you, not the behalf of the company. So we're not all like that, right, they're. One reason I love being independent is just gives us the flexibility to do what's right for the customer and ultimately, that's, you know, that's where my passion's at and that's why we started the company is to help as many people as we can to have that retirement that they want, and not necessarily fill in the pockets of some big corporation.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, well, that's awesome and that is, you know, people are really protective when it comes to their money and I think that that's you know, like, as your name states, wise of that, and it's you know, that's their livelihood. They've worked really hard for it and you want to work with someone that you can trust, that has your best interest, you know, in mind when planning your retirement. So I am glad, really glad, to have you on here. I'm just, I'm super excited to be partnering with you as well. Let's shift gears a little bit and tell us, sean, what do you do for fun when you're not working?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, so you know, my joy right now is a couple of things. We have three grandchildren, so that's my, that's my why, right?
Speaker 2:
now.
Speaker 1:
Love it.
Speaker 3:
You know that's my happy spot Family and the three grandbabies. I can't get enough of them, you know, and if the grandbabies aren't around then I love going out and playing golf and hang out with guys and family as well, but that ultimate happy spot is those three little ones. They wear me out, you know. I can't hang with them like I do with my own kids, but they're a blast. That's my joy right there.
Speaker 2:
Ah well, that's the next phase. I'm an empty nester right now, and then that's the next phase for me. I'm not. I mean, there are only 21 and 23. So we are definitely not in a hurry yet, but that is my why, for my future grandchildren, you know, I just I really am looking forward, looking forward to those days. I am so excited.
Speaker 3:
I always tell people you know you didn't think you could love another kid as much as your own until the grandbabies come along.
Speaker 2:
You know, I thought that when I had my first that. I was worried that I couldn't love my second as much, and it's like well, love just multiplies. It's just you don't have to share the love. It just multiplies. That's right. Yeah, that's awesome. I can't wait. It'll be fun, but I love that you're a family man too, and I think that represents well for our listeners that you value family and those you know.
Speaker 2:
Those are the kinds of people we want to partner with, so that's awesome. Well, so let's shift gears again and we'll talk about something a little more serious. Has there been a life challenge or a hardship that you have faced that you can say now, for having been through that experience and lived through it, come through the other side, are stronger for that today?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, it's. You know that's kind of an interesting question. For me it's kind of a combination of when I was in. It's all happened at the same time when I was in the industry not in the industry that I wanted to be in not really enjoying what I did for a living. This is years ago.
Speaker 3:
You know that's strong. It's a strong feeling to not have that joy. You know, I just talked about the joy of having the grand babies but at the same time you're doing a job day in and day out that you don't like and you find it hard to do and it's not your passion. You know that's a struggle, it's not fun and it affects everything in your life, right, and so finding my way through that and finding my path to this and finding the organization that we have now, that was a struggle and it took a minute to get there.
Speaker 3:
But at the same time I lost my dad at the same time when we were going through that, and even though I'm a retirement planner, financial planner and whatnot, and it really lit up the aspect of making sure everybody's prepared beyond just the immediate future of retirement and seeing the impacts in all phases of life, and it's really where some of the passion comes from between my parents and then seeing my mom and dad's friends go through those big downturns in the economy and they lost half or more of their retirement savings and whatnot. The struggles they went through and as well as with my parents, they really fueled the passion to do what I'm doing. But obviously there was a lot of emotions all at the same time between struggling through a job and then fighting through losing a parent who I was very close with. I always said if I was half the man that my dad was, then I'd be doing good.
Speaker 3:
And he was a good example for me and it was an inspiration, though, to go pursue the passion through fighting. Through all that, though, but yeah, that was an interesting period of life.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I imagine that was an amazingly difficult time, but I have found that the business owners who have a why that's similar to what you just shared and they get into something that they're truly passionate about doing and helping others and especially after leaving a job that didn't feel you weren't fulfilled by that and then to move into a career of helping people and helping others and doing something that you're good at and that you want to do and that you enjoy doing those really I have found to be the best business owners. Those are the best businesses to work with when they do have a strong why for their passion and then they are in something that they're passionate about and I think that's going to resonate with a lot of our listeners. It definitely does me. So I think I applaud you for that and I'm glad that you went through that struggle so that you'd be doing what you were meant to do Absolutely Well. Is there anything else, sean, that you would like our listeners to know about your business?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I think I'm going to wrap back around to kind of how we started it off is. There's a lot to planning in over the years, we've really developed a framework, if you will, to put a complete package or complete plan, I should say in place. Right, there's a lot of one-offs and there's the DIYers out there and there's people that get partial advice and those kind of things. But it's really the part of having a complete plan from beginning to end, starting with your retirement-wide, all the way through leaving a legacy and everything in between.
Speaker 3:
It's very personal and over the years we've developed what I call the retire happy framework because, let's face it, we've all worked hard our whole life. We want to enjoy our retirement, myself included, and so we're not just looking at a number and we're not just going to throw a plan at you and throw a number at you. We're going to figure out how to make that why happen or the best we can. Obviously, there's no guarantees of life, but we're going to try to make that why happen, no matter what it is, whether it's laying on the couch all day or whether it's you going out traveling the world or doing charity work. We like to get to know you and make your retirement why happen with a complete plan. So my phrase is so you can retire happy.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I love what you said. The retire happy framework that's fantastic. We need to coin that for you. The trademark that's John Maloney's retire happy framework that's awesome. Well, sean, if listeners want to learn more, what is the best way for them to reach out and get in touch with you for retire wise?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, they can visit our website at www. Retirewiseprocom. Or give us a shout out 404-6922-333.
Speaker 2:
Awesome. Well, thanks so much for being here, the first of many appearances for Sean. I really appreciate having you on. It's been a pleasure getting to know you.
Speaker 3:
Thanks so much. I enjoyed it. Look forward to the next ones.
Speaker 2:
Well, that's all for today's episode, atlanta. I'm Stacy Risley with the Good Neighbor podcast. Thanks for listening and for supporting the local businesses and nonprofits of our great community.
Speaker 1:
Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast North Atlanta. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, Go to GNPnorthAtlantacom or call 470-946-7007.
