Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
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Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
EP # 247 Building Your Retirement Roadmap with Eric Tibbs from Edward Jones
Financial security isn't about lucky breaks or market timing – it's about intentional planning and consistent execution, as Edward Jones advisor Eric Tibbs knows from both professional expertise and painful personal experience.
Eric joined Edward Jones in 2008 after serving seven years in the Air Force, building his practice on Fort Myers Beach until Hurricane Ian "relocated him without permission" to Estero. What drives his passion for financial planning? Watching his grandparents lose what should have been a significant family legacy after poor financial guidance transformed their $700,000 farm sale into financial hardship, eventually forcing his grandmother with Alzheimer's onto Medicaid.
This defining experience shapes Eric's approach to retirement planning. He focuses on creating reliable "mailbox money" – consistent income streams that function like a paycheck during retirement, ensuring clients can cover essential expenses regardless of market volatility. "When the market goes crazy or we got COVID or whatever happens, you still get that mailbox money," Eric explains. His comprehensive planning addresses healthcare needs, lifestyle desires, and legacy goals for family members.
Eric dispels common financial misconceptions, particularly about market volatility and investment vehicles like annuities. "100% of the time, over the last 102 years, the market has always come back and come back bigger and stronger," he notes, while explaining that annuities serve a specific purpose as pension replacement tools within a broader financial strategy. The key? Having a detailed financial roadmap with clearly defined goals and timelines – just like the plans he and his father once used to build a plywood fishing boat in their garage.
Whether you're just starting with $200 monthly contributions to a Roth IRA or managing millions in assets, Eric's advice remains consistent: start early, develop a comprehensive plan, and work with an advisor who understands your unique needs and goals. Connect with Eric at Edward Jones in Estero to build your personalized pathway to financial freedom.
Edward Jones
Eric Tibbs
10800 Corkscrew Rd Suite 304, Estero, FL 33928
(239) 463-0164
eric.tibbs@edwardjones.com
It's time to check out your neighbors on the Good Neighbor podcast, where we bring good vibes, great neighbors and local businesses in Southwest Florida together. Here's your host, Cabo Jim Schaller.
Speaker 2:Welcome Good Neighbors to episode number 247 of the Good Neighbor podcast. Today we have Good Neighbor Eric Tibbs from Edward Jones. Welcome Well, thank you, jim from Edward Jones. Welcome Well, thank you, jim. Yeah, always a pleasure to get to know people here in the community and share their stories, and you've been in the community for quite a while. So for those people that aren't familiar with Edward Jones, let's share a little bit about what you do over at Edward Jones.
Speaker 3:So Edward Jones is a full service financial house. We've been around for 102 years. We started back in St Louis in 1922. And we have roughly 20,000 financial advisors around the country.
Speaker 3:And so I started with Edward Jones back in 2008. I had left the Air Force after seven years, done a couple years in civilian life, and then I found myself wanting a career change and so one of my best Air Force buddies had become an Edward Jones financial advisor and he invited me to apply and they were looking for ex-military officers. And so I applied and got hired and they said where do you want to go? And I said I've been to South Florida one time in my life and I loved it, and so let's go there. And so I ended up down on Fort Myers Beach and I started my practice in July of 2008, back when the market was doing what the market's doing today right, kind of turbulent times and have built a successful practice over the last 17 years.
Speaker 3:I had an office down in Santini Plaza on Fort Myers Beach for 14 years until Hurricane Ian relocated me without my permission right, and that's okay. God does that sometimes. Relocated me without my permission, right, you know, and that's okay. You know, god, god does that sometimes, and so I ended up over here in Estero, where we we have a house, and we lived over here since 2015, jim, so very nice, very nice, and it's.
Speaker 2:You know, it's always great to hear people that follow their passions, you know. You know they find a new direction. And you know, I did the same thing. I'm from Wisconsin originally but I'm like I don't want to live here anymore. We don't want to live for moves. I'm moving, I'm going. I'll figure it out when I get there.
Speaker 3:Well, you know, you know a Colorado boy who learned how to hunt and fish from his dad, and you know he was. He was a big proponent of problem solvers rule the world Right, all rule the world right. And yeah, I just remember every friday night like he would load my sister and my mom and I up into this orange vw pop-top camper van and as a young boy he taught me how to hunt and how to fish from the shores but and we didn't have a boat, and so he found some plans from his dad and we built a plywood fishing boat in our garage and then he taught me how to hunt and how to fish in the best spots. And when I was 10, nintendo was brand new, and so I said, dad, will you buy me one? He's like no son, but he walked me down the street to Mr Andy Sackman's house and taught me how to ask Mr Sackman if I could mow his lawn. And so I mowed his lawn for the next eight years and many others in Pueblo, colorado, until I had the wonderful opportunity to go play football at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and graduated with a degree in structural civil engineering, and then the Air Force promptly sent me to Okinawa, japan, for three years, and I lived in Korea. The Air Force promptly sent me to Okinawa, japan, for three years and I lived in Korea. And then I my last duty station was at Eglin Air Force Base up in Fort Walton Beach in the Panhandle, florida. So, wow, I had a blast man, and, you know, my job now is kind of the same.
Speaker 3:People have gotten all this, these piles of materials, right, you know your 401k, your other things and now it's how do I build a proper structure to provide reliable, consistent income in retirement? And so that's really what I focus on. Right, because and the reason I do it is my grandpa. He retired in 1987 from public service power in Denver, colorado, and he got his first thousand dollar pension check Right, and he still got that same thousand dollar pension check in 2018 when he passed away. But the same year he and the five brothers sold the family farm in Iowa and each got about $700,000. Right, and they ran into somebody in my business who was a master at turning a dollar into a dime, and so what should have been a tremendous family legacy turned into them having to downsize their dream home and downsize and continue to downsize until my grandma, who had Alzheimer's, had to go on Medicaid, and so I don't want that to happen to anybody.
Speaker 3:So my mission in life is to really make sure that I try and help people structure their investments in a way that they can provide reliable, consistent income in retirement. I call that financial freedom right, so that every month I got a paycheck coming in, just like when we're working, to cover all my base bills. So when the market goes crazy or we got COVID or whatever happens, you still get that mailbox money right. Every month it hits the bank account and then we look for okay, how do I cover healthcare expenses? You know, risk of Alzheimer's. Then we have some fun, and then what do we leave for our kids and grandkids and all those you know we really love, right, and so that's that's why I got into this and that's what I really love to do, jim.
Speaker 2:But it's, it's about helping people and you know like, especially today, there's so many different I want to say options, but things that are going on out there that the laws, the rules, everything changes from day to day, week to week, year to year, and if you're not on top of that yeah, you're gonna get, you're gonna get lost.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah, let's back up a little bit and talk about some challenges. Obviously, you know being in southwest florida ian was a big challenge, but but yeah, so we're changing. You know a career move coming into the financial industry Is there maybe one that helped define who you are today?
Speaker 3:uh, what you mean? A change that really challenge.
Speaker 3:A challenge, yeah um, you know, it was really, um, it was, it was really seeing that my grandparents struggle and and not really wanting to have to have that happen. Um, and, and my parents struggled too, because my grandparents didn't teach my mom, you know, the financial principles that they probably should have, and so mom and dad didn't save and so they struggled. And so when I was my last duty station, when I was in the Air Force, my mom and dad moved out from Colorado because dad had lost his business, and so they moved in with me, and so, you know, I helped take care of them and provide them a place to live. And so, you know, that was really one of the challenges of wanting to see set a different legacy and trajectory for my family. So that was really tough. Seeing my dad have to kind of humble himself and and ask his son to come live with him, that was, that was really a challenge.
Speaker 2:Because it's not that they weren't hard workers, they just didn't know how to prepare, and that's that's a situation. So, you know, we're happy to have people like you help people prepare to, you know, and that's that's a situation. So, you know, we're happy to have people like you help people prepare to avoid situations like that and and share that with their you know, their uh, next generation. Yeah, um, are there any maybe myths or misconceptions surrounding what you do that we can kind of clear up for our listeners today?
Speaker 3:so one of the misconceptions is that you know you hear on the news that the market the misconceptions is that you know, you hear on the news that the market, the sky is falling, everything's going to go, you know, to hell and a half basket and we're going to lose everything. Well, one of the things that I know about that is that you know, 100% of the time, over the last 102 years of this firm, the market has always come back and come back bigger and stronger than it has. And the other misconception I deal with a lot in my practice is this thing called an annuity right, and I really just use an annuity as a pension replacement type vehicle. That's what they were designed to do, that they're designed to provide reliable, consistent income for the rest of somebody's life, and there are people that just sell them, and then there's people that actually use them like a tool in a toolbox right, and so that's what I try to do.
Speaker 3:You know annuities get a bad rap, but they're a tremendous tool as part of a financial plan. You don't want to have all your money in it because they're super hard to get your money out if you need it, and I find that 99% of my clients actually want to get access to their money at some point, Right, and so you know, if, if you, if you lock it all up and you can't get to it, you know, then you got to break through the door of the you know the shed, Right and that's, and that's a bad deal too. So it's, you know, annuities are one of those misconceptions that people think they're bad because, you know, some people use them in an incorrect way and take advantage of people.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about things that might be changing or trending in the industry currently.
Speaker 3:So one of the trends is that you know you've got AI and robo-advisors and all those sort of things that people can take advantage of and that can be part of a good plan, but actually sitting down with an advisor and mapping out your goals and how much they might cost and when they want to occur and all those sort of things so you actually have a plan. Because, just like when dad and I wanted to have a boat, if we didn't have a set of plans, we couldn't have built it properly. So if you don't have a good financial plan of, hey, I want to retire in four years, and two years after that we need to replace our car, and in four years after that I want to remodel our house, or hey, I'm thinking about downsizing. What does that look like? How does that affect my financial future? Okay, I want to go travel and be with my grandkids. Hey, I want to give to my grandkids for 529 money so they can go to college.
Speaker 3:Right, If you don't have all those things built into the plan as how is this all going to play out? Then you kind of just roll through life blind and sometimes you stumble and fall, and we've all done that. There can be a nasty bruise after that, Jim. So I find that you know, having a financial plan and executing it is one of the greatest things that we get to do.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. You mentioned you were from Colorado originally and through everything kind of led your way to southwest Florida. But what was that deciding factor? Ok, I'm going to, I'm picking southwest Florida and that's where I'm going to go.
Speaker 3:Well, you know, growing up in Colorado, and before that Montana, it was always cold and snowy, and so when I moved out, when the Air Force sent me to Okinawa, japan, which is a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific, I got used to being around the ocean and I love the warm weather man. It didn't get below 60 degrees there, and I'm like you know what? I kind of like this. I don't have to bundle up and be cold, and so I'll go visit for 10 days, but I don't need to live there and shovel snow anymore, right.
Speaker 2:What's a snow shovel right?
Speaker 3:What is that, you know? And so that's, and I met my beautiful bride down here and that was a God thing, and so you know it was tremendous, absolutely.
Speaker 2:So you've been down here for a while now, yes, and your job is very demanding, but when you do get a free moment other than fishing, it sounds like you like to fish a lot. What do you do to get out and enjoy life?
Speaker 3:So I actually get the privilege of coaching my son's flag football team. Zeke is 11 now, and so we play down at North Collier Regional Park. And then I have a four-year-old granddaughter and so we get to have fun with her, take her to Sky Zone and bounce, and you know, just do we do a lot of dress up and that sort of stuff, jim. So it's, it's kind of fun playing tea party and and you know, I just I love hanging out with them and you know, having fun, that's what it's about.
Speaker 2:It's about family, at the end of the day, and enjoying that time with each other. Yes, sir. So is there one thing you wish your listeners knew about? It were Jones, that maybe they wouldn't be too familiar with.
Speaker 3:Um, I wish that. You know we're a fortune 250 company and sometimes people see us as like the small player on the block. We have all the financial tools that people need. We have all the planning that people need, and so we can, you know, in our practice we have clients that have, you know, 500 bucks to you know, over 10 million Right, and so we can help, you know, all ranges of people really create a plan and create a financial legacy, and so we're a full service firm and have full access to all the financial tools that people might need.
Speaker 2:So absolutely, you know, and seeking that advice, especially nowadays for people, is very important. So we always urge people to you know, seek professional advice out there as well too. How would our listeners go about contacting you if they had questions, concerns or just wanted to learn more?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so they can contact our office. Our phone number is (239) 463-0164,. Um, they can, you know, look us up online, uh, edward Jones at Eric Tibbs. Uh, local, here in Estero, and I have an office over at the Miromar design center, uh, which has been a fantastic move for us. If people haven't been in, they should really come in the? Uh, the building is amazing. Uh, you know, three story tall glass atrium with, you know, marble floors and those sorts of things. Um, it's, uh, it's a little bit different than the beach, but a wonderful home, uh, nonetheless. So there you go, it's, it's the best alternative.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, any last words for our listeners.
Speaker 3:If I were, if I were to give advice to my 18 year old self or and if people have you know younger people that they are mentoring or coaching, I would say start early. Even if it's just put $200 or $300 a month into a good Roth IRA that grows tax-free, I would start early. If you haven't started early or you need help, just give us a holler and we'd be glad to help you in any way we can. That's the way I've always run my practice. We've got about 200 households that we deal with that we have the privilege of serving and, like I said, we help people with 500 bucks all the way up to 10 million. So be glad to help, love it, love it, love it.
Speaker 2:Eric, it's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for being such a good neighbor and we'll see you out in the community soon, sounds good Thanks, Jim.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, bringing together good vibes, great neighbors, local businesses in Southwest Florida. To nominate your favorite local business to be featured on the show, go to CaboWaboJimco. m.