The 10 R's for a Joyful Retirement with Cesar Aguirre

Retirement Answer Man

Roger Whitney, CFP®, CIMA®, RMA, CPWA®

Education, Investmentmanagement, Saving, Self-improvement, Careerplanning, Retirement, Business, Lifeplanning, Investing, Retirementplanning, Financialplanning, Retirementpodcast

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 November 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

💬 SHOW NOTES

In this episode, Roger Whitney explores the art of retirement goal setting with his signature blend of practical advice and thoughtful reflection. He sits down with Cesar Aguirre, who shares how leaving a corporate career led to a purposeful and fulfilling retirement, the evolution of his book, and the importance of aligning goals with personal values rather than just chasing big achievements. Roger also addresses listener questions on planning, discretionary spending, and shifting mindsets around money, offering actionable insights to help create a retirement that’s intentional, joyful, and aligned with personal values.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

(00:00) This show is dedicated to helping you not just survive retirement, but rock it
(01:07) The cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security was announced.

ROCKIN’ RETIREMENT IN THE WILD WITH CESAR AGUIRRE

(02:05) Roger talks with Cesar about his book and how he is rockin’ retirement.
(02:41) Roger introduces Cesar Aguirre, author of Retirement with Purpose: The 10 R's for a Joyful Retirement.
(05:55) At 65, Cesar realized many people approached retirement without a plan, inspiring him to document his process so others could find structure and clarity in their own journey.
(08:35) The pandemic slowed Cesar’s busy career, prompting him to shift from focusing on leaving work to discovering what he was retiring to.
(11:35) Cesar shares how a five-year assignment abroad led to a permanent move to the U.S. in the early ’90s, marking a pivotal shift in his life and career.
(12:25) Cesar reflects on cultural views of retirement, blending Mexico’s family-centered “jubilación” with the U.S. ideal of independence to create a more balanced, proactive approach to this new season of life.
(14:51) There are 10 R’s in the book, starting with Review.
(17:25) Roger asks Cesar how to answer the question, “What do I want?”
(20:17) Cesar explains that creating his book with a service purpose removed pressure, letting him focus on making it useful, reach a broader audience, and now develop a Spanish edition.
(21:56) Cesar encourages newly retired listeners to create structure, revisit plans, and embrace retirement as a journey with purpose.

LISTENER QUESTIONS

(24:18) In an audio question, Gary, who will retire in 2026, shares how managing “old” retirement savings feels different from spending a paycheck and asks for guidance on navigating this shift in mindset.
(33:56) A listener, who chose to remain anonymous, asks how to distinguish between the essentials of a “base great life” and the discretionary spending that falls into the “wants” category.’
(35:55) A listener praised Roger’s shift from chasing big goals to focusing on values and creating conditions to explore life personally and meaningfully.
(38:20) Dennis asks about the Retirement Podcast Network, and Roger explains that while it’s still active, he and Taylor Schulte decided to prioritize other projects and let this one remain on the back burner.

SMART SPRINT

(40:01) In the next seven days, reflect on the phrase, “you can’t take it with you.”

BONUS

(41:03) In this wrap-up, Roger addresses listener feedback from a past episode on organic food.

REFERENCES

Transcript

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0:00.0	You can't take it with you. You can't take it with you. You can't take it with you.
0:10.2	Welcome to the show dedicated to helping you not just survive retirement, but to have the confidence to lean in and rock it.
0:17.6	My name's Roger Whitney. Thanks for hanging out with me today. On deck today, we're going to
0:22.8	talk about not taking it with you when it comes to setting your retirement goals. We have a
0:28.2	question on a listener about that. In addition to that, we are going to do a interview on rocking
0:34.3	retirement in the wild with Caesar. Caesar went from a sea level executive at a
0:40.6	public corporation to live in a great retirement. He really is. And then at the end of the show,
0:47.2	we're going to go to the feedback booth and get some feedback about what the show should address
0:51.9	and related to the discussion we had about organic food.
0:55.3	Excited to get all that started. But before we do, just a quick bit of news that was delayed
1:01.0	because of the government shutdown. Recently, the Social Security Administration announced that
1:06.2	the cost of living adjustment for Social Security in 2006 is going to be 2.8%. It was delayed because they didn't
1:16.2	have the data from the Bureau of Label Statistics. In 2025, it went up by 2.5%. It's going to go up by 2.8%
1:24.3	next year. Over the last decade, it's averaged an increase of about 3.1%. If we go back to
1:31.8	the mid-70s when they started this cost of living adjustment, I think it's averaged right
1:36.4	around 2.6%. This is a really significant benefit. The fact that our Social Security benefit
1:43.2	goes up by some factor of inflation
1:46.4	every year. So now we know what it is for 2026. With that said, let's get to our rocking
1:54.8	retirement in the wild story. All right, we're going to talk with Caesar, who I've had the honor of knowing for a number of years.
2:05.9	I knew him before he retired.
2:08.2	And then as he's navigated, shedding his high pressure sea level job at a corporation,
2:16.4	and seeing how he's found his new rhythm. And he wrote a book related
	...

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