Retiree Feature: Rodney and Lindra Woodard
It’s a consensus among our Modern Wealth Management team that the relationships that we’ve built with retirees and pre-retirees are core to our firm’s existence. In March, we started to highlight those relationships and how they’re centered around providing financial education. We hope you enjoyed our first retiree feature with Mike and Carol Heiting. Now, we’re excited to share how Rodney and Lindra Woodard are living their one best financial life.
Flying into Retirement in Style
Late 2018 and early 2019 was quite the time for Rodney Woodard. After dating Lindra for 15 years, Rodney received the honor of calling her his wife when they got married in December 2018. The good times kept rolling for Rodney in 2019 when he quite literally flew into retirement following a 28-year career with Procter & Gamble.
“I’ve been retired for three years now,” Rodney said. “I’ve really been enjoying retirement. It’s been nice to not have to deal with the stress of work and enjoy my hobby. I’m a licensed ham radio operator and an RC jet pilot. I like to fly RC airplanes and RC jets. Those are my main hobbies that I like doing along with tinkering around the house and trying to be a jack of all trades.”
Family and Travel Time on the Horizon
Father and grandfather are two more roles that Rodney enjoys along with pilot, husband, and retiree. Lindra and Rodney are the proud parents of three sons (and two daughter-in-laws) and grandparents to four granddaughters. Spending time with family and traveling are two things that the Woodards are looking forward to doing a lot more of in retirement. Lindra is approaching the one-year anniversary of her retirement in June after spending 31 years with the UMKC School of Dentistry.
“So far, I haven’t done anything too exciting in retirement. I’m just enjoying retirement life,” Lindra said. “We just want to live a comfortable life and enjoy our vacations. Even though we are camping in an RV, I’m a glamper. I’m not one of those rugged campers. I need to have the have full hookups.”
While Lindra and Rodney are excited about their upcoming adventures, Rodney knew that one of the first mile markers he needed to reach in retirement was finding the right financial advisor who could give them the clarity and confidence they desired. Their first goal was making sure they had enough money to get through retirement. That’s understandably a primary goal for all retirees and pre-retirees.
It All Starts with the Right Financial Plan
However, as the Woodard’s started to develop their financial plan with their advisor, they realized that there is much more to retirement than having enough money. The professional advice opened their minds to what they could do with that money they had saved rather than just knowing they had enough to stop working.
The Woodard’s initial financial plan helped them realize that they may have more flexibility in retirement than they originally thought. Leaving a legacy is important to Rodney and Lindra, so they’ve been able to incorporate their children and grandchildren into their financial plan.
“One of our goals is to help send our grandkids to college and/or help with their career path. It’s nice to be in a financial position where we can help the kids out on small loans or something like that if they need it,” Rodney said. “Those were some pleasant, positive things that we didn’t previously think about. We had just been more concerned about having enough money to have a comfortable retirement.”
Living comfortably is still exactly what Rodney and Lindra have been doing in retirement thanks to some forward-looking financial planning techniques. They budgeted into their plan to buy their new RV and a new truck.
“We plan on taking some camping trips soon and other trips by hopping on a plane,” Rodney said. “It’s nice to be in that state financially where we can do that.”
Enjoying the Retirement Ride
Although Rodney and Lindra have their fair share of strengths, they didn’t consider wealth management to be among them. Rodney will be quick to tell you that there’s a big difference between being the pilot of an RC plane and pilot of a retirement plan. He’s more than happy to be a co-pilot throughout retirement with financial professionals who are in charge of most of the controls.
“The reason we went with a financial advisor is because we’re not financial advisors,” Rodney said. “We knew what our weaknesses were and wanted to work with people who specialize in financial planning.”
Investment advisory services offered through Modern Wealth Management, Inc., an SEC Registered Investment Adviser.
The views expressed represent the opinion of Modern Wealth Management an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Information provided is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. Modern Wealth Management does not accept any liability for the use of the information discussed. Consult with a qualified financial, legal, or tax professional prior to taking any action.