It’s that time of year again where Chicago Bears fans question everything.

But before fixes are made, the Bears have some deep soul-searching to do. In short, Pace has one year left to solve all of the same problems that existed when he got here. I imagine a new GM search and thus coaching search commences just after week 16 of the 2021 season. But that is just where the “fun” begins.

Since football and helping people confidently retire are two of my favorite things to think about, I couldn’t help but make some connections between the two. Here are some lessons you can learn from Bears failure that you can avoid in your own planning to increase your likelihood of success.

Clearly Defined Vision

The Bears offeseason is a mess again. In the NFL getting the quarterback right is all that matters. Patriots without Brady, Tampa with Brady, Chiefs with Mahomes and the Packers with Rodgers. As of today there is no plan and no clear path to success. The Bears are adrift. We all recognize that success won’t come overnight, but having a clear plan can help change the culture and the cycle of losing.  And that starts with a QB.

Retirement requires the same intentionality. While you may have done all of the right things financially to make retirement a reality, you still need to know what you want that life to look like when the day comes. And that starts with a plan.

Consider these questions as it pertains to your own planning:

• Can you afford to retire?

• What do you want to do when you have more time freedom?

• Can your investments be improved?

• Can you eliminate, or at least reduce, threats to your retirement?

• How will you create income from your investments to support your lifestyle?

• Where will Social Security and Medicare benefits fit into your plans?

For many families, it’s about getting to the point where you can afford to leave your career and pursue something that provides more energy and sense of purpose. When you know exactly where you stand and combine that with a vision of where you want to go, the path to achieving it becomes much more clear.

Honest Evaluation

When Ryan Pace arrived on the scene in 2015, there was a lot of work to be done. The Marc Trestman experiment had ended poorly. There were some questionable roster moves and it was time to take inventory and evaluate the team’s best path to success. It came down to a choice: Triage to try to win immediately or make the long-term changes necessary to seriously compete over time?

Planning a successful retirement requires an honest evaluation of where you stand as well. While it can be easy to put off, having an accurate assessment of your current financial situation is critical to your success. Here are some questions to consider:

• Are your current investments still positioned to best help you reach your goals?

• Should you still be paying into that whole life insurance policy you purchased?

• What about that old 401(k) from when you switched jobs?

• Should you be contributing to your pre-tax or after-tax retirement accounts based on your current and future tax standing?

By taking inventory of your savings, opportunities for improvement, and potential risks to mitigate, you’ll be that much closer to making retirement a reality.

I Believe in Process Over Product

The Bears seem content on repeating a process that hasn’t worked in over a decade. A GM who prefers flash over substance and ends up with questionable talent on the roster.  2 more coaches that struggled to implement their strategy. And still no QB.

Retirement comes with multiple “phases of the game” as well. Having an investment strategy that properly aligns your goals to the amount of risk you should take is just the start.

In a world with daily access and a never-ending stream of financial information, it can be easy to feel like you’re missing out or should be doing something more with your investments.

Successful investing is not about timing the markets or picking the best performing funds each year. It involves developing a process based around what you can control; maintaining a diversified portfolio, managing tax implications, and not taking more risk than you need to.

Developing a tax-efficient distribution strategy, navigating health care coverage, and making the right retirement income decisions are all equally important pieces of the puzzle.

By developing a thoughtful plan to align your use of capital with what’s important to you, you can achieve success with your retirement.

Who would have thought watching football could be so insightful?

Wondering if your own retirement process is positioned for success? Learn More.

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