Blake Wealth Management

10/21/2026

Retirement can bring a surprising mix of excitement and uncertainty.

10/14/2026

What happens when the career that shaped your schedule, relationships, and identity is suddenly no longer part of your everyday life?

Preparing for retirement can mean thinking beyond the financial pieces.

Eric Blake, CFP continues our conversation with Kelly (Carolyn) Ottman, Ph.D., Professor at Milwaukee School of Engineering and Executive Leadership Coach at Leadership Portals, LLC, about preparing for the personal transition into retirement.

We explore how women can rethink identity beyond a job title, create new sources of purpose, maintain important relationships, and build structure before leaving work.

Kelly also shares practical ideas from her research, including practicing retirement habits, creating a curiosity list, finding mentors and role models, and becoming more comfortable with a different pace of life.

What happens when the career that shaped your schedule, relationships, and identity is suddenly no longer part of your everyday life? Preparing for retirement can mean thinking beyond the financial pieces.

09/23/2026

After spending decades learning how to save for retirement, giving yourself permission to spend can feel surprisingly uncomfortable.

We’re taught to contribute, accumulate, and protect what we’ve built. Then retirement arrives and the financial behavior we practiced for decades has to change. That transition can bring questions about whether it’s okay to travel, make a larger purchase, or simply enjoy more of what you’ve worked for.

In this episode of the Simply Retirement Podcast, Eric Blake, CFP talks with Meg McKeen, founder and principal consultant of Adjunct Advisors, about divorce, becoming your own financial advocate, entrepreneurship, full-time travel, practicing retirement, and building a life that reflects what you actually want.

Her experience also leads us into an important discussion about retirement spending. A plan can account for the numbers, but it also needs to account for how it feels to begin using the money you spent years saving.

Hear the full discussion and consider what you want your money and your next chapter to make possible. https://bit.ly/4AIC9dU

What happens when the life you planned no longer fits the person you’ve become?

09/02/2026

For women approaching or already in retirement, Social Security decisions can feel harder when tax questions, funding projections, and proposed legislation all appear in the headlines at once.

08/19/2026

Retirement tax planning can feel confusing, especially when annuities enter the conversation.

We've found that many people aren't really asking about the annuity itself. They're trying to understand what happens to their money, how it's taxed, and whether an annuity is the right fit for their retirement.

In this episode of The Simply Retirement Podcast, Eric Blake, CFP continues our annuity series by walking through the tax rules that often create the most confusion. We explain why the source of your money matters, how qualified and non-qualified annuities are taxed differently, and why buying an annuity inside an IRA doesn't change the tax treatment of that retirement account.

We also discuss how withdrawals work, how tax deferral fits into retirement planning, and why every annuity decision should begin with one simple question:

What do I want this money to do for me?

Retirement tax planning can feel confusing, especially when annuities enter the conversation.

08/12/2026

They're about family, communication, and preparing for moments that none of us hope will come.

In this episode of The Simply Retirement Podcast, Eric Blake, CFP speaks with Tami Calais, Aging and Change Coach, owner of Calais Senior Consult, and Motivational Interviewing Practitioner, about why families often delay difficult conversations with aging parents until a crisis leaves them with few choices.

We discuss how adult children can approach these discussions with empathy instead of urgency, why connection creates better outcomes than control, how having conversations earlier can help families avoid unnecessary guilt, and practical ways families can preserve a loved one's voice while planning for future care.

We've learned that many of the most important retirement decisions aren't only about finances. They're about family, communication, and preparing for moments that none of us hope will come.

08/05/2026

When people hear the word annuity, they often picture a stream of retirement income. While that's certainly part of the story, there are important decisions that come long before those payments ever begin.

How do the different types of annuities work? Which one might fit your retirement goals? And what questions should you answer before comparing products?

In this episode of The Simply Retirement Podcast, Eric Blake, CFP continues our annuity series by explaining the different types of annuities and how each one is designed to solve a different retirement planning challenge.

We clarify the difference between an annuity as a financial concept and an annuity as a financial product, explain how immediate, deferred, fixed, fixed indexed, and variable annuities work, and return to one guiding question that can bring greater clarity to every retirement decision: What are you trying to accomplish?

When people hear the word annuity, they often picture a stream of retirement income. While that's certainly part of the story, there are important decisions that come long before those payments ever begin.

07/29/2026

Annuities often become part of the retirement conversation during major life changes, yet many people still aren't sure what they actually are or when they make sense.

In this episode of The Simply Retirement Podcast, Eric Blake, CFP begins a four-part series designed to help you understand annuities before you ever evaluate a specific product.

We discuss what an annuity actually is, why insurance companies created them, how they can provide retirement income, and why every decision should begin with your retirement goals rather than product features.

We also explore accumulation versus income phases, tax deferral, and the questions you should ask before deciding whether an annuity belongs in your retirement plan.

Annuities often become part of the retirement conversation during major life changes, yet many people still aren't sure what they actually are or when they make sense.

07/22/2026

Retirement decisions often happen during life's most emotional moments.

When you're grieving, retiring, or suddenly making financial choices on your own, how do you know you're asking the right questions or talking to the right people?

In this episode of The Simply Retirement Podcast, Eric Blake, CFP shares a story from a recent anniversary trip that reminded him why retirement planning is about much more than investments.

Through conversations with women facing divorce, widowhood, and retirement, we explain how decisions around Social Security, beneficiary designations, retirement accounts, taxes, and financial guidance are often connected in ways people don't realize.

We also talk about why every financial advisor approaches retirement differently, why asking the right questions matters, and how finding guidance that fits your situation can influence retirement for years to come.

Retirement decisions often happen during life's most emotional moments. When you're grieving, retiring, or suddenly making financial choices on your own, how do you know you're asking the right questions or talking to the right people?

07/15/2026

Losing a spouse often brings emotional and financial decisions that can affect your future for years to come.

What happens when one of the largest assets you inherit is a retirement account?

How do you know which choices may affect taxes, healthcare costs, income planning, and retirement flexibility?

In this episode of The Simply Retirement Podcast, Eric Blake, CFP discusses one of the most important financial decisions many widows face after losing a spouse: what to do with an inherited IRA or retirement account.

We explain the unique options available to surviving spouses, how inherited IRAs differ from rolling assets into your own IRA, and why those choices can influence retirement income, taxes, healthcare costs, and required distributions.

We also share a real client example, common mistakes to avoid, and five key questions every surviving spouse should ask before making a permanent decision about inherited retirement assets.

Losing a spouse often brings emotional and financial decisions that can affect your future for years to come.