Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management - Wisconsin

Paradigm Shift……

A concept in the philosophy of science introduced by Thomas Kuhn; American physicist and philosopher. Kuhn used the famous duck 🦆- rabbit 🐇 optical illusion to show how a shift in perspective could result in seeing things in a new, different way.

Among the many challenges the transition to preferment (aka, retirement) presents, is the likely need to change the way we view 🔎 our retirement investments and the role they play.

It seems simple enough……I’ve retired and now I need to replace my work income with some combination of investment income and secure income (Social Security, pension, supplemental income, etc).

Here’s one ideal outcome for you:

Investment Income + Social Security + Pension + etc > retirement living expenses.

If so, no need to touch investment principal until the government says so: Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs).

WHY THE CHALLENGE?

We’ve been conditioned our entire working 💼 life (40+ years for some) to focus primarily on growing our wealth. Our benchmarks for evaluating results? The S&P 500, Nasdaq, current out-performers like Nvidia (up 219% YTD), Meta (+170%), Amazon (+64%), and of course the neighbors, co-workers and other peers.

We’ve also lived a life that has conditioned many of us to strive for more, better, bigger, greater, etc.

Once we retire though??

For most of us though, the game changes and a PARADIGM SHIFT is necessary. We’re now relying on all that we saved and grew over our working life to fund our retirement life.

Generally, we need to generate income & protect principal. And in years like 2023 where we’ve seen strong investment returns concentrated among a relatively small number of stocks, that paradigm shift is even more challenging.

So, what do you see……..a rabbit or a duck?