The "good enough" financial plan
How to stop optimizing your money and start living your life
Celia was stuck.
She’d accumulated over $4 million.
Her financial plan showed she could retire comfortably at 62, maybe even earlier.
But there was this voice in her head asking (and sometimes yelling): What if you screw this up?
So she wanted to run the numbers.
Again.
She wanted to know what if healthcare costs went up more than expected?
What if the market dropped right after she retired?
Should she work one more year just to be safe?
Or maybe two more years… Can’t be too careful, right?
So she was stuck.
Not because she didn’t have enough money. She was stuck because she was waiting for her perfect plan.
I’ve touched on this idea before. See #5 in this essay I wrote a few weeks ago:
A lesson from the Marine Corps
The Marines have a concept called the “80 percent solution.”
Here’s the idea: In combat, you rarely have perfect information. You’ll never have all the facts. If you wait for certainty, you lose.
So Marines are trained to act when they have about 80% of the information they need. They make a good decision quickly and adjust as they go.
Why?
Because a good plan executed now beats a perfect plan that never happens.
I’m not saying retirement planning is combat. But I absolutely believe a good decision made with confidence beats a perfect decision that you never make.
The vital 20% that actually matters
You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 rule.
The idea is simple: 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.
In retirement planning, a handful of decisions drive almost all of your financial security. Everything else is just noise.
The vital 20%:
Having enough saved
A sustainable withdrawal rate
When to claim Social Security
Basic tax planning
Powers of attorney and a will
The 80% that doesn’t matter nearly as much:
Finding the “perfect” mutual fund
Timing the market exactly right
Claiming Social Security at age 67 versus 67.4
Optimizing every single expense
Complex strategies you’re not sure you understand
If you’re approaching retirement, don’t spend time “majoring in the minors.”
You’ve likely already won the savings game. The question now isn’t just whether you have enough.
You also need to ask yourself: When are you going to start living?
The real cost of waiting for perfect
Here’s what I see happen:
Someone spends 30 or 40+ years saving diligently. They do everything right. They live below their means. They max out their 401(k). They’re responsible.
Then they hit their 60s with literal millions in the bank. But they can’t pull the trigger on retirement.
Why? They’re overwhelmed. Paralysis by analysis.
Meanwhile, their health is good right now. Their energy is high right now. Their parents are still alive right now. The trip they want to take works better right now.
But they wait. One more year. Just to be safe.
Then another year after that.
I’m not saying to be reckless. I’m saying that past a certain point, more optimization doesn’t buy you more security. It just costs you time you can’t get back.
“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” ~ Jim Rohn
For more on this concept:
What happened with Celia
We sat down and I asked her: “What would have to be true for you to feel comfortable retiring?”
She rattled off five different scenarios she wanted to model. Five more years of data she wanted to review.
So I said: “Let’s try something different. Let’s figure out the 20% of decisions that actually matter.”
We identified six things:
She had $4 million saved
She wanted to spend about $120,000 a year
This 3% withdrawal rate gave her plenty of cushion
Social Security at 65 added another $24,000
Her estate plan was current
She had long-term care insurance
Everything else was details.
Then I walked her through her personal retirement income plan.
I showed her the monthly retirement paycheck we planned for. And I showed her how we’d adjust when the market moves up or down.
She was optimizing for perfect when she already had a plan that worked.
Celia retired a few months later.
Last time we talked, she told me the best decision she ever made was stopping the optimization and starting her life.
How to know if you’re stuck
Ask yourself:
Are you waiting for perfect information that will never come? The market will always be uncertain. Healthcare costs will always be unpredictable. There will never be a perfect time.
Are you saying “just one more year” for the third year in a row? If your plan showed you could retire two years ago and nothing has changed except you’re older, what’s it going to take?
Are you optimizing money while neglecting life? Your portfolio is up 8% but you haven’t taken a real vacation in three years. You’ve deferred the kitchen remodel again. You’re not spending time with your grandkids because you’re working. What are you optimizing for?
What I do for clients
My job isn’t to give you a perfect plan. Perfect doesn’t exist.
My job is to help you identify the 20% of financial decisions that drive 80% of your security. Then give you confidence to move forward.
We create a good plan - an 80% solution - and we adjust it as your life unfolds.
It’s like the Marines: We make a good decision with the information we have, and we adapt as we go.
Here’s what makes this different from guessing: Your financial life is mostly measurable. We can run the numbers. We can model scenarios. We can show you that you have enough. With math to back it up.
We’re not hoping it works out. We’re calculating that it works out. And we’re building in cushion for uncertainty.
But once the math says you’re good? The only thing between you and the life you want is giving yourself permission to move forward.
To take that first step.
Progress, not perfection
The Marine Corps knows that hesitation costs lives.
In retirement, hesitation costs years. Not lives, thankfully. But years of health, energy, relationships, and experiences you can’t get back.
You’ve been responsible your whole life. You’ve saved. You’ve planned. You’ve been careful.
Now the question is: When is good enough actually good enough?
Because if your plan works and you’re still waiting, more money isn’t the answer. More planning isn’t the answer.
The answer is recognizing that you’ve already solved the problem you’re trying to solve.
That’s not a perfect retirement plan. It’s a good plan along with the confidence to start living it.
Not sure if your plan is good enough? Let’s figure out your vital 20%.
That’s what I do.
Looking back
2025 was another great year at Wealthcare for Women.
I welcomed a small handful of wonderful new clients who are a great fit for my focus and expertise
I received Wealthtender’s Voice of the Client award based on my client reviews
Looking ahead
As always, my #1 priority is taking great care of my existing clients
I’ll only be accepting 4 new client relationships in 2026
If you'd like to explore working together, or know someone who might, please let me know
Thank you for reading!
If you’re not a client and would like my advice, simply reply to this email with your questions and I’ll be happy to share my thoughts with you…
Until next Wednesday,
Russ
Thanks for this, Russ. Celia's story is so familiar - $4 million saved, 3% withdrawal rate, and still stuck waiting for "just one more year." The math worked, but she couldn't give herself permission to trust it.
I see this constantly with people approaching retirement. The paralysis isn't about needing more information. It's about needing permission to believe the plan they already have is enough.