Tag: Retire Well

The Importance of Personal Risk Management with Ryan Kaiser (Ep.10)

The Importance of Personal Risk Management with Ryan Kaiser (Ep.10)

If you go outside when it is raining, you take an umbrella to keep you from getting wet.

When you ride in a car, you put on your seatbelt to keep you safe.

But what do you do to safeguard your finances?

Taking proper precautions for the safety of your assets and finances is just as important as protecting yourself from harm which is why Ryan Kaiser, Personal Risk Specialist at USI Insurance Services joins Michelle for this release of Retire To A Life You Love®.

Join them as they talk about the importance of understanding both your physical and financial risks by sharing real-life scenarios that will have you questioning if your current coverage is enough. 

Gain insight as Ryan and Michelle discuss: 

  • Umbrella coverage; the benefits and how you can protect your assets
  • Examples of exposures you may want to know about
  • The importance of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
  • Rising premium costs and why the insurance market is struggling with supply and demand
  • Why you should consider adding cyber coverage to your policy 
  • And more

Connect with Ryan Kaiser:

Connect with Michelle: 

About Michelle Gessner: 

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Michelle is passionate about building a life plan for her clients and helping them see that they have choices, which often comes to them as a pleasant surprise. She is an independent thinker and a huge advocate of her client’s interests. Her greatest joy is working to do what is right for them and be their voice.

Michelle has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an M.S. in Management from Boston University, Brussels. Growing up in Montana and moving to Colorado for college, she took out student loans and worked her way through all four years. After graduating in 1987 with honors, she accepted a job at Shell Oil in Houston and worked her way up the corporate ladder to a management position before leaving in 1992 for Brussels, Belgium, where she lived for 4 years. In Brussels, she learned about different cultures and basic conversational French as well as pursuing and earning a graduate degree in management. 

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional,  she is held to the highest standards set forth in the industry. She surrounds herself with a back office of experts in tax and investment research so that her clients have the best of both worlds – the resources of a large firm with the caring, dedication, and personal service of a small firm. 

About Ryan Kaiser:

Ryan Kaiser is a Personal Risk Specialist at USI, and he and his team provide wealth protection by conducting comprehensive risk assessments, educating clients on potential exposures and risk mitigation practices, and transferring risk through the placement of insurance.  Ryan is a graduate of Sam Houston State University and has been in the insurance industry since 2011. Having spent a portion of that time in claims, he has helped thousands of customers recover from loss and understands the importance of having adequate coverage. 

His firm, USI, has over 150 years of consulting and brokerage experience, 10,000 employees, and 200 offices, and is a unique insurance industry leader in property & casualty, employee benefits, and personal risk.  

How to Avoid Common Retirement Planning Mistakes (Ep.9)

How to Avoid Common Retirement Planning Mistakes (Ep.9)

Planning for your retirement is not black and white. It’s not cookie-cutter, or one-size-fits-all. 

And because there is no universal template when it comes to retirement planning, it’s important that your plan is tailored to your lifestyle and how you envision your post-work life. 

In this episode, Michelle provides ten strategies to help you avoid common retirement planning mistakes. Listen in as she stresses the importance of having an adequate emergency fund, not selling investments during market downturns, and what you should know about holding too many scattered accounts, or holding too much of one company’s stock. 

Gain insight as Michelle discusses: 

  • How to build an emergency fund using modern-day strategies and tools
  • Diversifying your investments and how to avoid concentration risk
  • Misconceptions about renting versus owning a home
  • The importance of paying yourself first while eliminating any debts
  • Benefits of having your investments and accounts managed by one advisor 
  • And more

Resources:

Connect with Michelle: 

About Michelle Gessner: 

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Michelle is passionate about building a life plan for her clients and helping them see that they have choices, which often comes to them as a pleasant surprise. She is an independent thinker and a huge advocate of her client’s interests. Her greatest joy is working to do what is right for them and be their voice.

Michelle has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an M.S. in Management from Boston University, Brussels. Growing up in Montana and moving to Colorado for college, she took out student loans and worked her way through all four years. After graduating in 1987 with honors, she accepted a job at Shell Oil in Houston and worked her way up the corporate ladder to a management position before leaving in 1992 for Brussels, Belgium, where she lived for 4 years. In Brussels, she learned about different cultures and basic conversational French as well as pursuing and earning a graduate degree in management. 

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional,  she is held to the highest standards set forth in the industry. She surrounds herself with a back office of experts in tax and investment research so that her clients have the best of both worlds – the resources of a large firm with the caring, dedication, and personal service of a small firm. 

The Client Experience with Michelle Gessner, CFP® (Ep. 2)

The Client Experience with Michelle Gessner, CFP® (Ep. 2)

In this episode, Michelle Gessner, CFP® delves into the client experience at Gessner Wealth Strategies. Listen as she shares her expertise and provides valuable insights into how you can properly save for a comfortable and secure retirement. 

Plus, hear real-life examples about how she and her team have helped clients with tax errors made by CPAs, uncovered unknown social security benefits they were entitled to, and helped clients save on their investment expenses.

Join Michelle as she discusses:

  • How to ensure you have enough money to Retire To A Life You Love®
  • What you can do to take advantage of tax laws in the most tax-efficient way
  • The benefits of having a low-cost investment plan and understanding the cost of investments, including advisor fees and other charges
  • And more

Connect with Michelle: 

About Michelle Gessner: 

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Michelle is passionate about building a life plan for her clients and helping them see that they have choices, which often comes to them as a pleasant surprise. She is an independent thinker and a huge advocate of her clients’ interests. Her greatest joy is working to do what is right for them and be their voice.

Michelle has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an M.S. in Management from Boston University, Brussels. Growing up in Montana and moving to Colorado for college, she took out student loans and worked her way through all four years. After graduating in 1987 with honors, she accepted a job at Shell Oil in Houston, and worked her way up the corporate ladder to a management position before leaving in 1992 for Brussels, Belgium, where she lived for 4 years. In Brussels, she learned about different cultures and basic conversational French as well as pursuing and earning a graduate degree in management. 

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional,  she is held to the highest standards set forth in the industry. She surrounds herself with a back office of experts in tax and investment research so that her clients have the best of both worlds – the resources of a large firm with the caring, dedication, and personal service of a small firm. 

Introducing the Retire to a Life You Love® podcast (Ep. 1)

Introducing the Retire to a Life You Love® podcast (Ep. 1)

Are you ready to start planning for the retirement of your dreams? 

Welcome to the Retire to a Life You Love® podcast, where host Michelle Gessner, CFP® shares her expertise and strategies to help you achieve the freedom you deserve.

In this inaugural episode, we get to know Michelle, the founder of Gessner Wealth Strategies, and how she intends to help people plan for a successful, and prosperous retirement. 

Listen in as Michelle discusses:

  • How her firm helps guide clients through the retirement planning process.
  • Her love of hiking, reading, and animals.
  • Why she believes you should trust professionals to do their job.
  • How living abroad caused her to learn new customs, habits, and languages.
  • And more!

Connect with Michelle Gessner: 

About Michelle:

 As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Michelle is passionate about building a life plan for her clients and helping them see that they have choices, which often comes to them as a pleasant surprise. She is an independent thinker and a huge advocate of her clients’ interests. Her greatest joy is working to do what is right for them and be their voice.

Michelle has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an M.S. in Management from Boston University, Brussels. Growing up in Montana and moving to Colorado for college, she took out student loans and worked her way through all four years. After graduating in 1987 with honors, she accepted a job at Shell Oil in Houston, and worked her way up the corporate ladder to a management position before leaving in 1992 for Brussels, Belgium, where she lived for 4 years. In Brussels, she learned about different cultures and basic conversational French as well as pursuing and earning a graduate degree in management. 

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional,  she is held to the highest standards set forth in the industry. She surrounds herself with a back office of experts in tax and investment research so that her clients have the best of both worlds – the resources of a large firm with the caring, dedication, and personal service of a small firm.