NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Smart Planning Sessions: Investing Through Uncertainty and Planning for Early Retirement Abroad
19 May 2025
In this month’s Smart Planning segment, a financial advisor discusses when it might make sense to scale back your 401(k) contributions. Is it safe to invest right now? Should you keep contributing to your retirement account when the economy feels uncertain? Hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola discuss how to navigate turbulent financial times by focusing on long-term investing strategies and what you can control. They break down what’s going on with recent stock market activity, why the dollar is weakening, and how investors can stay the course by understanding their risk tolerance and using tools like dollar-cost averaging. They also touch on emotional investing and offer practical ways to handle market anxiety without pulling back on your financial goals. Then, Elizabeth welcomes Ross Anderson, founder of Craftwork Capital and co-host of the Check Your Balances podcast, to answer a listener’s question about whether to reduce 401(k) contributions due to fears about job security. They discuss how to evaluate whether you’re holding too much cash, the trade-offs between contributing to retirement versus living for today, and how the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement can work even if you start later in life. They also cover the impact of retiring abroad, how international taxes can complicate your strategy, and why certain insurance products might not match your goals. Inspired to navigate your finances with an advisor? Use NerdWallet Advisors Match to find vetted professionals today at https://www.nerdwalletadvisors.com/match Learn about dollar-cost averaging as a strategy to reduce the impact of volatility by spreading out your stock or fund purchases over time so you're not buying shares at a high point for prices: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/dollar-cost-averaging-2 In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: investing during market volatility, dollar cost averaging, stock market downturn 2025, how to manage risk tolerance, emotional investing, investment risk capacity, long-term investing strategy, FIRE movement explained, barista FIRE, how to retire abroad, retiring in Portugal, retiring in Italy, buying a home in Europe, saving for early retirement, high-yield savings account vs investing, when to reduce retirement contributions, investing vs lifestyle spending, how to handle market swings, tax rules for expats, international index funds, when to use a brokerage account, what to do in a market downturn, life insurance for retirement planning, long-term capital gains tax, when to sell stocks for retirement, CDs vs savings account, risk tolerance vs risk capacity, and when to rebalance investments. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected]. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend. Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Any comments posted under NerdWallet's official account videos are not reviewed or endorsed by NerdWallet or representatives of financial institutions affiliated with the reviewed products unless explicitly stated otherwise. Avoid disclosing personal or sensitive information such as bank accounts or phone numbers. NerdWallet employees do not offer personalized financial advice and will not respond to posts here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
Elizabeth, have you been getting 2020 vibes recently? Like the whole world feels a little off?
I think off is a gentle way of putting it, Sean. Chaotic feels a little more befitting. 2020 felt chaotic and so does 2025.
Yeah, I'm with you there. Well, if anyone listening is worried about what the recent economic shakiness means for their investment plans, this episode, we've got some answers for you. Welcome to NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast, where you send us your money questions and we answer them with the help of our genius nerds. I'm Sean Piles.
And I'm Elizabeth Ayola. This episode, we have the next installment in our Smart Planning series. And we're going to be joined by a listener and a guest financial expert to discuss whether to pull back on 401k contributions due to the current economic uncertainty.
But first, we're going to talk about whether it's safe to invest right now and if you should trust the market at all, given the way it's behaved over the last several weeks.
So, Sean, since you're Mr. Certified Financial Planner, what's your take on that?
Well, I'll remind you, Elizabeth, and everyone listening, that while I am a financial planner, I'm not your financial planner. So don't take this as personalized advice and don't get litigious if your investments don't perform like you want them to. But here is what I'm thinking. Investing remains most folks' best bet for staying ahead of inflation.
as in the return you get on your investments is greater than the rate of inflation, typically. And because of that, I can't afford not to invest, regardless of what sort of wackiness is going on with the stock market or tariffs or the news of the day.
Listen, I can't afford not to invest either. But a lot of people out there are seeing the swings in the stock market and even changes in the bond market, which are supposed to be safer investments. And the value of the dollar is dropping. And they might be wondering if investing will continue to be a reliable way to grow your money.
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