On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was driving on Southwest Trafficway, heading to my office on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. When I walked inside the world had changed. My colleagues were huddled around TVs watching the horrific, surreal footage from the terrorist attacks in New York.

About a month later I was in New York for business meetings and I saw the destruction first-hand. Everyone was wearing facemasks because the air was still heavy with soot. At Ground Zero, some parts of the remaining tower structures were still burning from the intense heat.

You could feel the grief and the fear. But there was also a remarkable sense of resilience. People were pulling together, helping each other, doing their part. And, little by little, the city, the country – and, yes, the markets -- began to recover.

On today's show, my cohosts and I discuss our memories of that terrible day before zooming out for an analysis of how major historical events can affect the global economy and individual investors.

Most of us try to help our loved ones whenever we can and however we can. But when that "help" is money, our best intentions can turn bad very quickly. As uncomfortable as it may feel, if you don't integrate giving and lending into your overall financial plan, you're not just potentially enabling poor financial habits -- you could be jeopardizing your retirement.

On today's show, we discuss five keys to lending money to loved ones that will help you preserve both your nest egg and your dearest relationships.

You should delay taking Social Security until you reach age 70.

Unless, of course, you shouldn't. Or can't.

Yes, my team at Keen Wealth generally advises folks to delay their benefits as long as possible so that those checks will, eventually, be bigger. But, like just about every detail of your comprehensive financial plan, timing your Social Security benefits is a complicated decision that depends on your unique situation and your specific goals for retirement.

On today's show, we discuss some questions we typically ask folks who are considering taking their Social Security benefits as soon as they are eligible at age 62.

At Keen Wealth, "tax season" is never really over.

Our checklist-driven, comprehensive planning process is constantly taking in new information about the folks we work with and changes to tax law. By staying ahead of tax issues, we believe we can help limit surprises when April does roll around, especially for retired seniors who are living on a fixed income.

I'm glad to see that there are folks in our audience who are staying on top of their taxes throughout the year as well. On today's show, we answer listener tax questions about gold, correcting mistakes on your tax return, and a form you might have received in the mail a couple of months ago.

How are you feeling about the upcoming elections?

Until about a week ago, I think that many folks might have had November on the periphery of their radar, especially if they don't live in a contested swing state. But the tragic events in Pennsylvania and the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee have probably changed that perception for all Americans. And as interest -- and emotions -- start running higher, it can become very difficult to separate your politics from your financial planning.

On today's show, we discuss how elections typically impact the financial markets and what kinds of mistakes investors should try to avoid as we head deeper into election season.

Formulating a one-time, bulletproof financial plan would be incredibly simple if you could supply an advisor with just two pieces of information: exactly how much money you're going to spend every single year in retirement, and your date of death.

Absent those two impossible data points, an effective, comprehensive financial plan has to be an ongoing, personalized, and adjustable process, no matter what size your nest egg is.

On today's show, we talk through another case study to illustrate how my team at Keen Wealth helps folks plan for a retirement that's much more than just their numbers.

"Robin" is a single mother of two high schoolers. She's 45 and she earns about $350,000 per year. Robin had never worked with a financial advisor before, and one of our clients referred her to Keen Wealth because she was looking for help with streamlining her finances and, hopefully, retiring in nine years.

On today's show, we run Robin's case through Keen Wealth's checklist-driven, comprehensive planning process and explain how my team arrived at actionable strategies for achieving that early retirement goal.