This week we have a very special guest joining The Invested Dads Podcast! Tony Hixon, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Hixon Zuercher Capital Management will be discussing his latest book, Retirement Stepping Stones. He’ll talk through his motivation to write this book, as well as highlighting a few “stepping stones” of the retirement process. Tune in now to learn how to find meaning, live with purpose, and leave a legacy through retirement!
Main Talking Points
[1:46] – Who is Tony Hixon?
[12:50] – What Brought Tony to Write this Book?
[21:52] – Understanding Your Values
[26:33] – “Tony” Joke of the Week
[27:32] – Having a ‘Plan B’
[29:46] – A Moving Future
[31:14] – Leaving a Legacy
[33:31] – Pamela M. Hixon Memorial Nursing Scholarship Endowment Fund
[36:50] – How to Purchase the Book
Links & Resources
Invest With Us – The Invested Dads
Free Guide: 8 Timeless Principles of Investing
Amazon: Retirement Stepping Stones
Social Media
Full Transcript
Intro:
Welcome to The Invested Dads Podcast. Simplifying financial topics so that you can take action and make your financial situation better. Helping you to understand the current world of financial planning and investments, here are your hosts, Josh Robb and Austin Wilson.
Austin Wilson:
All right. Hey, hey, hey. Welcome back to Invested Dads Podcast. A podcast where we take you on a journey to better your financial future today. We are going to be doing something very, very special. We are going to be talking to a world-renowned author and speaker, motivational speaker even. Hixon Zuercher Capital Management’s own, Tony Hixon.
Tony Hixon:
I hope I can live up to that expectation. We’re going to try our best.
Austin Wilson:
Hey, we have listeners all around the world, so now you’re world renowned.
Josh Robb:
They’ve heard your name.
Tony Hixon:
They can’t get t-shirts outside of the U.S.
Josh Robb:
That’s right.
Austin Wilson:
But we ran out. We ran out.
Josh Robb:
Shipping limit.
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. That’s right.
Austin Wilson:
So yes, Tony Hixon, one of the partners here at Hixon Zuercher Capital Management where Josh and I work. He wrote a book and we’re going to talk about that today. So Tony, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Tony Hixon:
Well first of all, thank you for having me on your show. Really appreciate it. You guys have done. What is this? What episode number are we on? 90 something?
Austin Wilson:
90 something. We’re in the nineties.
Tony Hixon:
Almost to 100. It’s testimony that consistency compounds. You’ve been releasing some really great content. I’ve listened to every episode and I’ve gotten some insights and some value on each one. So great job you guys.
Austin Wilson:
Thank you.
Tony Hixon:
The Invested Dads. You guys are rocking it out good.
Austin Wilson:
Hey, thank you. And Josh is here too.
Tony Hixon:
Josh is on the microphone.
Josh Robb:
I am here. Ready to go. I’m excited. This book though. It was a great book and it compounds into what we’ve been doing here of getting outside of just the financial aspect. And we’ll talk about that in a minute, but tell us a little bit about yourself though personally. Who are you Mr. Hixon?
[1:46] – Who is Tony Hixon?
Tony Hixon:
Well, I am a farm boy. I grew up in a small farm outside of our school district there in Pandora, Gilboa. School district where we were at.
Austin Wilson:
Josh Robb:
The rockets, huh?
Tony Hixon:
Yeah, rocket out. So small farm boy, but at the same time had a extreme desire and somewhat of a interest in numbers. So I went to Ohio Northern University where I was able to achieve a degree in accounting. So upon graduation, the world at my fingertips, I entered into a CPA firm here in a micropolitan top number one Findlay community.
Austin Wilson:
Yeah. You had to go to the big city for that.
Josh Robb:
That’s right.
Tony Hixon:
Big city and scored a job at a CPA firm. Quickly learned that sitting behind a desk all day, punching 10 key, preparing tax returns, auditing, it all maybe made sense in college, but actually doing it, I just couldn’t quite grasp if I was going to be able to put up with that my entire life. Secondly, you had to bill for your time. So that’s just a crazy new dynamic that they didn’t really tell you much in school is every six minute increments, you got to write that down.
Austin Wilson:
That is how detailed it is?
Tony Hixon:
Six minutes.
Austin Wilson:
Woah!
Josh Robb:
Five minutes it’s free, six minutes you pay for it.
Austin Wilson:
Well because it’s a 10th of an hour.
Tony Hixon:
It’s a 10th of an hour.
Austin Wilson:
So you’d be 0.1, 0.2.
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. So my entire life, even when I went home and I was looking at my clock for six minutes. I’m like, Keri, you got six minutes on…
Austin Wilson:
That’s right. Moving on.
Josh Robb:
Conversation over.
Tony Hixon:
So from there I started to connect with my current business partner, Adam Zuercher. We were high school buddies. He went to a different college up at UT, also with a degree in accounting. And we just started to reconnect here in town over lunch and discovered that we had similar values, similar interests, and my desire to be entrepreneurial. And we decided that starting our own firm where we could help individuals and businesses and families make wise decisions with their money would be a lot of fun. So ’99, 2000 2001, the tech bubble had just burst. And as I was preparing tax returns at that CPA firm, I was seeing a lot of mistakes happening.
I was recording all the losses that these clients had experienced. And I saw the names of the companies that were generating these losses. And I’m like, these are great companies. They’re not going out of business simply because our country was in an economic downturn. So it would pique my interest to be involved in the investing side of things. And in 2002, with zero assets under management, zero clients, a desk, a chair and a passion in our hearts, we launched Hixon Zuercher Capital Management with the desire to help our investors make wise decisions with their money.
Josh Robb:
With a desk and a chair they took turns. They didn’t have… No budget for two chairs or something.
Austin Wilson:
So they sat on each other’s lap or something.
Tony Hixon:
Your turn to sit down. Okay. Okay. Fine.
Austin Wilson:
One computer.
Tony Hixon:
That’s right. Yeah.
Austin Wilson:
Two employees. And look where you’re at now.
Tony Hixon:
Look where we’re at today. So yeah, today we’re serving over 300 clients in and around Findlay in Northwest Ohio and throughout the country, and we’re managing stewarding over 270 million in assets under management. We have a team of 11 people that put two feet on the ground every day to do remarkable work. And it’s quite an honor and privilege to see our team come together and provide a comprehensive wealth management to our clients. And each one of our clients are uniquely positioned to benefit from the service that we provide. So we’re super excited. I’m super excited to be on the show today and reveal a little bit more about the book and where it’s at today.
Austin Wilson:
So that’s Tony the professional that everyone knows and loves.
Josh Robb:
Yeah.
Austin Wilson:
There’s also Tony the Invested Dad.
Tony Hixon:
Oh yes.
Austin Wilson:
So you’re a dad. You have three kids.
Tony Hixon:
Three kids.
Austin Wilson:
Talk about your kids. Talk about your wife.
Tony Hixon:
For sure. Yeah. So three kids, my oldest a sophomore, actually school just started this week. A sophomore in high school.
Austin Wilson:
You have a sophomore. Wow. Goes fast.
Tony Hixon:
I feel old. But she’s awesome. She’s a cheerleader. So we’re doing the Friday night lights thing with no COVID restrictions. The games are open. It’s a really fun atmosphere. So it’s a really fun time. My middle child daughter, her name is Kya and she’s in eighth grade. And because Pandora’s marching band is so small, we dip into junior high.
Josh Robb:
You need it. When they’re really good, you pull them up.
Austin Wilson:
That’s right. We’re filling up the ranks.
Tony Hixon:
We got to pull them up out of the-
Josh Robb:
Recruit.
Tony Hixon:
Recruit from the junior high realm. So she’s busting out marching band.
Austin Wilson:
That’s right.
Tony Hixon:
And she’s having a good time.
Josh Robb:
What does she play?
Tony Hixon:
I want to say the sousaphone or mellophone, it’s a horn.
Austin Wilson:
Yeah. A big horn.
Tony Hixon:
It’s a big horn. She’s a small girl. But she-
Josh Robb:
Lugging that around.
Austin Wilson:
Getting it done.
Tony Hixon:
She’s got a lot of hot air, so it makes it work pretty well. Youngest son, Everett. He is in fourth grade and currently he’s in flag football. So we’re rocking out flag football games. He loves it. And Ohio State is his favorite team and so it’s a good time.
Josh Robb:
There you go.
Tony Hixon:
My wife Keri and I have been married 22 years. We were high school sweethearts. She is primarily a stay-at-home mom, and she’s mainly the chauffer for the kids to get them from point A to point B when needed.
Josh Robb:
And she holds secret recipe to one of the best chai recipes in the world.
Austin Wilson:
Oh yeah. Don’t limit it to Northwest Ohio, it’s the world. It’s the world. It’s addictive.
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. You cannot have that recipe.
Austin Wilson:
But you can have some.
Josh Robb:
But the value of that is astronomical.
Tony Hixon:
It’s like an NFT.
Austin Wilson:
Yeah. Oh, she should Non Fungible Token that. Yeah.
Tony Hixon:
I hadn’t thought of that till right now.
Josh Robb:
There you go. And hobbies. What do you do outside of work? What is your passion?
Tony Hixon:
Yeah, so part of my 30th birthday, which was a long time ago by the way. I felt the need to accomplish something and a group of friends and I, we caught the bug to see if we can complete, train for and complete a triathlon. So a triathlon swim, bike, and run, and we trained and we completed it, and I caught the bug and they didn’t. And I-
Austin Wilson:
It stuck for you.
Tony Hixon:
It stuck for me. So I have completed, I don’t know how many, dozens or more of Olympic distance triathlons over the years. And I don’t know where my friends are at anymore. They are probably on the couch watching TV somewhere.
Josh Robb:
They’re still trying to finish that first one.
Tony Hixon:
Binge watching Netflix.
Austin Wilson:
So what are the distances? Remind me on those.
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. So the distance, for what I do, is the swim is a mile. So you’re crawling through water for a mile, which isn’t the funnest thing in the world. And then you hop on your bike and you bike a 26 mile 40K, and then you run a 10K which is 6.2 miles. So a mile swim, 26 miles by six mile run, cross the finish line, drink some water.
Josh Robb:
I feel like I’ve done one of those. If you compound my two, three years worth of all those things together…
Austin Wilson:
It might add up to one.
Josh Robb:
Yeah, it’s a continuous clock. Where can I start and stop at each day when I finish my job.
Tony Hixon:
For you we can make it a continuous clock, yeah.
Josh Robb:
All right Yeah.
Austin Wilson:
So Tony is a triathlete, which means he’s three times the athlete of most people. And mostly me, as I’m sitting here like, “Man, I ate four tacos last night.”
Tony Hixon:
As he rubs his belly.
Austin Wilson:
I know.
Josh Robb:
Triathlete, four tacos, three bags of chips and-
Austin Wilson:
I’m a quadra-athlete. Yeah, that’s right.
Josh Robb:
Yeah. Count them up.
Austin Wilson:
Take that. No, triathlete. Wow.
Josh Robb:
Yeah. We know too that that doesn’t… Just your passion. You’ve created your own triathlon.
Tony Hixon:
Forced it on to my kids, yeah.
Austin Wilson:
That’s right.
Tony Hixon:
So yeah, the kids it’s just like any kid that wants to support their dad. Almost every race I’ve ever done. And I thought it’d be cool. I think it was five years ago. I thought it’d be cool. What if we did a Hixon family triathlon? So I called a local printing company and got some shirts made up and coped out a neighbor’s pawn, and I thought let’s do a really short distance, but maybe they’ll catch the bug too and something that we can do together. So one Saturday morning, we set out to swim a little bit, bike a little bit and run a little bit. The grandparents, the kids’ grandparents came over. Keri’s mom and dad to help celebrate the wins. So the kids thought it was the best thing ever and stuck.
Austin Wilson:
Okay.
Tony Hixon:
So they’ve been asking like, “Are we going to do this again dad? Let’s do it again.” So this year, last Saturday, we completed the fifth annual Hixon family triathlon.
Austin Wilson:
Wow.
Tony Hixon:
Good time.
Austin Wilson:
So Tony has the kids in the best shape in the entire county.
Josh Robb:
That’s right. If you take just a family ratio, that’s a…
Austin Wilson:
They win.
Josh Robb:
That’s an in-shape family. So swimming a mile here in Northwest Ohio-
Austin Wilson:
The Blanchard River?
Josh Robb:
There’s not a lot of places you can hit a mile swim that you end up being healthy when you get out of that water.
Tony Hixon:
Yeah, you don’t want to glow when you get out.
Austin Wilson:
No.
Josh Robb:
No. So how’s that work? Is it laps? A lot of laps?
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. A lot of laps. So fortunately I have a good buddy that has a pond that’s more long than circular. So by the time a lap is down and back. So by the time you get back around, it’s a hundred yards. So if you do 18 of those you got a mile.
Josh Robb:
There you go.
Austin Wilson:
How do you count and swim? Do you lose count?
Tony Hixon:
So they create this thing on Amazon where it’s a sport counter. It rusts right on your finger and you hit the button and it does-
Austin Wilson:
It’s not like your Garmin that you’ve been trying to sell me for three years.
Tony Hixon:
I think you should probably get a Garmin though, to be honest.
Austin Wilson:
Okay. We could spend all day talking about triathlons. But one thing in your book that we learned was that you compared the retirement planning journey to preparing for racing and finishing and recovering from a triathlon. So dig into that a little bit and then we’ll go into more specifics a little bit from the book.
Tony Hixon:
Well, if you really think about it, the triathlon training plan, I typically run a race in August. I start that plan in May. It’s a 12 week plan where you’re getting your body acclimated to a hard summer season. And in Ohio you basically have the summer and that’s about it. Otherwise it’s too cold to go outside of your house. So it takes some time. It takes some discipline to prepare for that finish line. And by the time August comes around and you feel ready and you’ve completed the race and you make the decision to get up that morning, and the finish line is in sight and you cross it, the next day you go for a run. Which doesn’t sound right? You would think the next day you’d want to sit on the couch.
Josh Robb:
And get those muscles, all of that…
Austin Wilson:
Lactic acid.
Josh Robb:
Yeah. You’re hurt.
Tony Hixon:
That’s right. You’re hurt, you’re sore. And the last thing you want to do is sit around. So from that point forward, after crossing that finish line, there’s still some work to do, and it’s called, that’s called the taper. It’s called rest and recovery. It’s understanding your body to the point where you can let your muscles come down from that sore exercise, that race that you just completed. So I compare that a little bit with retirement and the fact that there is a long planning session like Josh, as an advisor, you know that starting to plan for our client’s retirement starts what? Three years out, five years out, oftentimes even further.
Josh Robb:
Yeah.
Tony Hixon:
And by the time they cross that finish line, we’re super excited for them, but the work isn’t done. Right? Far be it from us to allow a client to retire and have really nothing awaiting them. They already know what they’re retiring from, but not necessarily what they’re retiring to. So that work continues. In our business we continue to ask the right questions to challenge the clients to continue a life of meaning and a life of purpose beyond the finish line, beyond the race.
[12:50] – What Brought Tony to Write this Book?
Josh Robb:
Yeah. And that drives us to really what motivated you to write this book. So would you mind sharing just a little bit about that story and what brought you to this point?
Tony Hixon:
Yeah, absolutely. So boom, I’m a normal human being. I’ve got a great mom and dad, my sister is a little bit older than me, and my dad’s a factory worker, a full-time farmer. My mom is a nurse. And her passion, her gift, her unique ability was to care for others. So she spent the majority of her career after she graduated with her registered nurse degree, her RN, she went into the hospital and if you work for a hospital, they kind of tell you what shift you’re going to be on. And when she had my sister and myself, it really wasn’t a family friendly shift for her to be able to work seconds and thirds and then they rotated her to firsts. And she began to look outside of a registered nurse hospital facility.
She landed on a job in home health, which is where you’re going into the home to care for the person, which ultimately led to a desire to enter into the hospice world. So hospice for those who you kind of know what it is, but you don’t, it’s basically when the healthcare industry says, that’s all we can do. And we want to transition you from our facility back to your home so that you can be surrounded in a familiar place and you can be surrounded by loved ones. We’re going to care for you the best we know how through the hospice agency. So she fell in love with that as she helped these patients navigate that transition from this life to the next. And she surrounded the family with love and care as well as those patients would move on, would depart from this world to the next.
So she, as you can imagine, with that type of a career and a job, that’s just emotionally, spiritually, and relationally just very taxing. So fast forward to the mid 2000s and late 2000s, the computerization or the digitization of medical records really became the law actually. And my mom was not a tech savvy person, she was a caregiver, and she wanted to be at bedside next to her patient, caring for them the best she knew how, and she found herself more and more doing administrative duties behind a desk, trying to learn a computer, trying to figure out how to get these medical records digitized. So not only was the job itself taxing, but an added layer of technology and computers that she just really didn’t want to learn, had no desire to learn, was being forced to learn and it burnt her out.
Josh Robb:
Yep.
Tony Hixon:
So she approached her primary financial advisor, along with my dad to run some numbers to see if she were to retire if they were to retire, would they be okay? Could they make it happen? And we had separated business from family. So she had another advisor and this advisor gave her the green light and said, “I ran the numbers, yes, we’re good.” But they had enough respect for me to say, “Hey, we’ll run it by you as well.” So I had the privilege of looking under the hood, digging into some numbers. And I came to the same conclusion that her primary advisor had come to. And the fact was that they were financially stable. They would be able to retire, still owned a farm and operated it. There were some profits, some revenue coming in from that and they should be fine. Gave her the green light.
That was in probably summer fall of 2009. And she started to like that idea more and more as the burnout from her career in hospice really began to take its toll. So by fall of 2010, she decided to cross that finish line and retire from her career. Unfortunately what we found out later is that decision became one of her deepest regrets, because she knew exactly what she was retiring from. But unfortunately she hadn’t done the proper work of realizing and figuring out what she was retiring to. She had enough money to sleep at night, but unfortunately could not find enough purpose to get up in the morning. And she had tried that she might to meet with counselors and pastors and friends and colleagues. My dad was still working, a lot of her social networks and familiarity. Her community was still employed. My sister and son-in-law still had jobs.
I was gainfully employed raising two small children at the time. And we were busy working our own lives, and she found herself alone. And she found herself isolated. And she couldn’t quite shake the regret that she had from retiring from her career in hospice. On March 22nd 2011, she chose to take her life, and the depth of anxiety and depression that she had, we knew that something was wrong, but we did not know the depth of depression that she had. The ramifications of that decision were vast. She left behind my dad, who was her high school sweetheart. They were married for 41 years at the time. She left behind my sister and son-in-law Mark. She left behind me and my wife and her two granddaughters, Eliana and Kya.
My wife was seven months pregnant at the time with Everett and they never met. So the ripple effects of that decision were vast and it was a tragedy. It was a complete stumbling block. And it took some time for me to process what that story would mean for me, because I was one of the ones that gave her the green light. The guilt that I felt for years was ever present. And there was a moment where I knew that her story didn’t have to end in tragedy and it did not have to end as a stumbling block, but rather we could turn that tragedy into triumph, and we could turn that stumbling block into a stepping stone. And I chose to overcome the guilt. I chose to not be bitter, but to get better. I knew the story needed to be shared and it could really positively impact future retirees, our clients, and those who choose to read this book. And it provides for them a step-by-step guide for them to be able to prepare better, not just from a financial side, but also from a non-financial side as well.
Josh Robb:
Yeah. And you mentioned stumbling blocks and that’s a purpose, it’s called Retirement Stepping Stones. And your goal is to take those stumbling blocks, turn them into stepping stones, and that’s the whole purpose of this. And like you said, the financial side, the green light given wasn’t false. There wasn’t an issue with the money. But what you’ve learned and what you’ve taught me and what thankfully our industry is heading towards is there’s more to retirement in life changes, life decisions than just the financial aspect. And for a long time that was the focus, is you and I we can crunch numbers and come up with a great plan, but that’s just the plan. It’s got to be put into practice. So that’s thankfully what this book really focuses in on, which we’ve had a chance to read it Austin and I.
So we’re going to dip into that and look at a couple of those, but we appreciate you sharing that. And having been here with you for about nine years now to see that passion of there’s more than just numbers, there are people behind those numbers and those people are going to have struggles. There’s going to be changes. There’s going to be regrets possibly that be alongside them as much as possible. It’s been huge for me to learn and to grow on that side of things as well. So we appreciate that. So we’re going to look at a couple of these. There are 10 stepping stones in the whole book.
Austin Wilson:
Yeah. Yeah. We’re going to give you a taste to leave you wanting more. Because there’s a lot of good stuff.
Josh Robb:
I hope so.
Austin Wilson:
There’s 10 stepping stones. We’re going to pick a few that we think are worth talking about, and maybe not something that a lot of people are talking about in the industry or when they’re thinking about retirement. There’s obviously the financial stuff is part of it.
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. It’s important.
[21:52] – Understanding Your Values
Austin Wilson:
It’s very important. But we’re going to say that we talk about that kind of stuff a lot. Let’s talk about something we don’t talk about. So Tony, one of the first stepping stones, I think it was the first stepping stone was understanding your values. So talk about why you chose to start there. What are some examples of that and how that is really going to impact someone’s direction as they prepare for retirement?
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. Yeah. So a few years ago, myself, my business partner, Adam, we were able to attend some executive coaching. And one of the key thoughts, skillsets that they trained us to identify was a unique ability. Each one of us is given, I think God given, a unique ability in this world, and without one of us the world is void. You have skillsets that I don’t. This person has skill sets that the other person doesn’t. Each one of us is uniquely gifted to add value and to provide skills to this world. So what I value might be different than what you value, but if I don’t take the time to understand what those things are, then I don’t know what is next for me. So oftentimes in a career we’re so busy with raising a family, with honing in our skillsets, with punching in, punching out from our time clock and we’re living for the weekend that we sometimes fail to relax, step back, take a deep breath and realize what is it that’s important to us.
And I think once we understand and articulate what those values are, that gives us the ability to decide and to determine what’s next for us. There’s nothing wrong with retiring and taking a break. I understand. A 30 year plus career, you need a halftime. Just like in a football game. You play the first half. You take a halftime to make adjustments and you come out the second half to do a good job. Well, the first half is typically your career. You take a halftime to identify what’s next for you. Well you’ve spend a career honing in your skillsets. You’ve spent a career building a social structure. You’ve spent a career developing friendships and relationships. You’ve spent a career possibly volunteering on certain boards. There are things that are important to you that you may not even realize are, and once you’ve identified what those values are, you’re able to then use that mindset and use those values to determine what’s next for you.
Josh Robb:
And you define those two. There’s values in their skills, just because you’re skillful in something may not line up with your values. You may be good at something, but your values are really what drives that passion and that purpose. And so give us some examples of that maybe in your life where you see values or just in general? What are some of those?
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. One client comes to mind that we were able to help navigate that finish line, that retirement date. This particular person was in the health care industry. And upon I think three or five years out we helped hone in the financial metrics, ask them the right questions. His desire was to be a professor. Specifically in a religious department. So how awesome was that for him to be able to identify that value, just teaching the next generation spiritual values, religious values, biblical values, which he couldn’t do necessarily in the career path that he was on. He retired and made that a reality upon identifying what his values were. When you ask about what is it for me? I think I’m living it a little bit. Maybe not just even a little bit, maybe a lot. This career, what I’m doing right now, is my value. It’s helping others retire well, helping them with the financial side of things. And now with the release of this book, helping them to find meaning, to live with purpose, and to leave a legacy.
Josh Robb:
And you’ll probably find that your values, you’re probably doing something throughout your life because it is a passion purpose. But come retirement and that transition, it just gives you the opportunity to maybe do more dive deeper into wherever that leads you. Because I think you’re right. Most people that we work with, when they do identify those values, chances are they can point to things they have done or are doing that align with it.
Tony Hixon:
That’s right.
Josh Robb:
Because again that purpose doesn’t start at retirement. You’ve been driving that purpose your whole life.
Tony Hixon:
And you just met with a potential client this week where they’re in one particular career and they have a desire to enter into a different place because they know what their heart is telling them to do. They’ve identified their values and they’re moving toward that direction.
Austin Wilson:
And a lot of instances that’s not going to be what you’re doing every day. Maybe you’re just doing what you’re doing to put bread on the table, right? And then there’s really something that you hope someday to be able to do, because it’s super important to you. But you’ve got family to raise and you can’t take a lot of risk or do whatever you want to do, boom.
Tony Hixon:
Mortgage to pay.
Austin Wilson:
Your mortgage. Yeah. Bills to pay, things happen. Then you get this opportunity. It’s an awesome thing.
Tony Hixon:
That’s right.
[26:33] – “Tony” Joke of the Week
Josh Robb:
All right. Let’s take a quick break. We do a dad joke of the week every week. And one of our fun traditions is when we have a guest, we let them tell us a dad joke.
Austin Wilson:
That’s right. And Tony you probably had to stop listening to this while you drive with coffee in your hand so that you don’t spit all over the dashboard.
Tony Hixon:
I have to pull off the road, absolutely.
Josh Robb:
They’re that good.
Austin Wilson:
They’re that good.
Tony Hixon:
So I thought the dad joke this week would revolve around the investment lanes. Okay. So Austin, I was excited to hear that Apple might start selling its own cars-
Austin Wilson:
That’s nice.
Tony Hixon:
… until I learned they wouldn’t support Windows.
Austin Wilson:
How do you see?
Tony Hixon:
To whoever stole my copy of Microsoft office? I will find you. You have my word.
Austin Wilson:
You have my word.
Tony Hixon:
The other day Adam asked me how good I was at PowerPoint. I told him I Excel at it.
Josh Robb:
You excel at it.
Austin Wilson:
Classic. Good dad jokes.
Josh Robb:
That’s a combination right there. Boom.
Austin Wilson:
And a triple whammy of Microsoft.
Tony Hixon:
We’ll have to go with the triathlete also.
Austin Wilson:
That’s right. Okay. Good job. Good job.
Tony Hixon:
Everything is in threes with me.
[27:32] – Having a ‘Plan B’
Austin Wilson:
So that was your dad joke of the week. Brought to you by Tony Hixon. We’re super excited. Let’s go through a couple more of these stepping stones. The next one we’re going to talk about Tony, is you mentioned having a plan B. So then one of the examples was every boxer has a game plan until they get hit in the face, right?
Tony Hixon:
That’s right.
Austin Wilson:
So that’s kind of…
Tony Hixon:
Is that Mike Tyson. Did he say that?
Austin Wilson:
He got hit in the face a lot? Doesn’t he have a tiger, or is that just in the movie?
Tony Hixon:
I think he ate somebody’s ear off too, he’s a crazy guy.
Josh Robb:
Yeah.
Austin Wilson:
So Tony, the plan B, when it comes to retirement, elaborate on that. Break it down a little bit. What do you mean by have a plan B?
Tony Hixon:
So imagine yourself having prepared three to five years out for that magical finish line for retirement to occur, you get there, you’re in retirement and you’ve even identified your values, you knew what was next. You wanted to be with the grandkids or travel or whatever home projects, whatever it might be. And you discover that there’s something missing, and that void just continues to get bigger and bigger. And you’re not quite sure how to fill it. This is where having a plan B really comes into place. What if retirement isn’t all it was cracked up to be? What if you were simply so burnt out by your career that you made a rash decision without understanding what was truly next?
So I think that was a bit where my mom was at. She was so burned out from what was behind and what she was currently going through, that she had blinders on and retirement was such a Nirvana to her that once she finally got there, it was a let down. So having that plan B as an option is super critical to give yourself a way out. That way if things aren’t going quite the way you had planned, you’re not tripping up with anxiety, which can lead to depression, which can lead anything from a mental health standpoint to allow yourself to thrive is certainly a great idea.
Josh Robb:
And along with that, that plan B may be a result of things even outside of your control. There may be an elderly parent you have to take care of. Or something that disrupts what you had intended to do and you need to be able to make that adjustment and say, “Okay, this is my value, and this is how I was going to fulfill it. But now through whatever the circumstances, I can’t.” What are other ways that that value didn’t change, but how can I achieve that in a different way?
[29:46] – A Moving Future
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. I think in a way that we often talk about it around here is called a moving future. Oftentimes in businesses we have a 10 year vision or something like that. So much technology changes, culture changes, team members change, all kinds of things. We tend to embrace more of the idea of a moving future. I think that’s an important attribute to embrace in retirement too, understanding exactly what Josh you referred to. If circumstances change, being able to have that moldable mindset, that moving future mindset to embrace that plan B.
Austin Wilson:
I think one thing that I think about and you talked about it multiple times in various chapters of the book was you have a lot more time to fill on your hands than you know. And if you’re not filling it with something that leaves you feeling fulfilled, maybe your job did in some instances, maybe it didn’t, whatever it was, or with something that’s really important to you based on your values, you’re going to fill it with bad things.
Tony Hixon:
That’s right.
Austin Wilson:
And that could be just bad thoughts, bad feelings, anxiety.
Josh Robb:
Bad habits.
Austin Wilson:
And bad habits. Yeah. This is not the time to take up smoking. That is not the answer.
Tony Hixon:
Nor is it the time to sit in front of CNN, the crisis news network.
Austin Wilson:
Correct.
Tony Hixon:
And come up with the next conspiracy theory.
Austin Wilson:
Exactly. Exactly. So I think one thing that I learned a lot going through this was think to fill the time. Fill the time with things that matter, and if you do that then that’s going to be great. But also like you were just talking about, it may be different than the thing you had in mind. Your plan B is very important to you there.
[31:14] – Leaving a Legacy
Josh Robb:
And finally, I think this ties into that value piece is you mentioned one of the later stepping stones, but very important one is the legacy. A lot of people have that conversation of, “Oh, here’s what I want to happen in my estate plan.” But you took a different approach to it. What were your thoughts on the legacy piece?
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. Yeah. So oftentimes we see it in our client interactions. In the past specifically, we see a very robust estate plan. All the assets transfer to the next generation very beautifully. And there’s nothing wrong with that, if that’s the value that the client wants to embrace, we’re fine with that. Well, and there’s another way of embracing a legacy as well, and that is not waiting until your estate plan documents kick in, which basically means that you’ve died. What if we would start to leave that legacy today? What if we would be able to invest in our children and our grandchildren and into the causes that we feel very passionate about? What if we were to start that today? Let’s not think about the future estate plan that might be really cool someday for our children to enjoy, what if we invested in them today?
So some examples don’t even have to be monetary. They can just be time. So one thing that I’ve started to incorporate in my weekly routine is on Friday. So just a day. I’ve started a texting channel with my kids. And it gives me a platform and an ability to be able to articulate a principle, a value, an encouragement that I want to make sure that my kids have record of, that they not only can they read for right then, but they have record of for a lifetime. Even to the extent where we’re seeing a lot of clients starting to create more memories now, than leave a large inheritance in the future. So we’re starting to plan for that in our retirement projections. We’re putting larger lumpsum distributions out of the portfolio sooner, so that the family can have a really fun experience on a big trip or a big vacation.
[33:31] – The Pamela M. Hixon Memorial Nursing Scholarship Endowment Fund
Josh Robb:
Along with that you talk about your mom and her legacy. And this book has a piece of that. But you’re also all the profits from this book are going to help continue that legacy as well.
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. So I’m super excited to announce and to affirm, first of all, thanks to Adam for agreeing to this idea. Super great friend and business partner, he’s been alongside me through this journey. We’ve been in business now for 19, almost 20 years. We were friends before that. So really appreciate his friendship and his encouragement along the way. He’s agreed that all the proceeds, profits from the sale of this book will go to the Pam Hixon Memorial’s nursing scholarship fund. 2017 my wife Keri and I we set up an endowment at the University of Findlay that provides a scholarship opportunity for a nursing student that attends the University of Findlay that displays financial need and good grades. And one of the caveats of this particular scholarship is as it’s given out, I get to meet with the recipient, and I get to share the same story that I’ve shared with you, that I’ve shared with the listeners today.
So that as they launch into their career of healthcare where they’re constantly caring for others, that hopefully this story will be implanted in their mind, that self care is important too. That you got to do the hard work of making sure that you’re taken care of. That it’s not all about others all the time for the next 30 years of your life, but it’s also making sure that you’re mentally taken care of as well. So all the proceeds from the sale of this book go straight to that scholarship fund. We’re super excited for that.
Josh Robb:
That’s great.
Austin Wilson:
So Tony, we’ve covered a lot of ground and there’s a lot more ground, right? This book, we skimmed three of the 10 stepping stones. Like 50,000 feet as we talk about every single week, I feel like on here. So much good information here. Give some closing thoughts on your approach and how it’s changed over the years and what you think and hope that this book will do for others.
Tony Hixon:
So one of the things that I’ve really I guess mentally struggled with is the idea of the Imposter Syndrome. And maybe you guys have too as podcasts hosts, there are many Joe Rogans out there with a million downloads per episode, but he’s…
Austin Wilson:
He’s a subscriber.
Tony Hixon:
He’s a subscriber. Of course. So it’s very easy for us to get that mindset like we don’t have as big a platform. So as I thought through, how many clients can I actually serve? What is my capacity to be able to help them each navigate this journey toward retirement? Granted on our team we have three or four CFPs on staff. We can do a lot, but we can’t do it all. So this is that idea of one to many. This is a book that can be sold at to thousands, tens of thousands, millions of people, 10,000 baby boomers per day are retiring. Woefully unprepared for what’s next. Our industry is very great at making sure that the financial boxes are checked. We’re not great at ensuring that the purpose boxes are checked as well. This book is an opportunity to continue my mom’s legacy to care for others by providing them a step by step guide to be able to prepare for their next step, finding meaning, living with purpose, and leaving a legacy.
[36:50] – How to Purchase the Book
Josh Robb:
Yeah. So they get this book. Where is this book available? How can they buy that if they said they were interested in the book?
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. Yeah. I would certainly appreciate any interest in the book. They can go to my website, which is tonyhixon.com/book, and all the buttons will be alive and active. Alternatively, the book will be sold on any popular online retailer, including Amazon, and anything else that you can think of. Another awesome opportunity that we’re providing with this book is a complimentary. By complimentary I mean free.
Austin Wilson:
We like free. Everyone likes free.
Tony Hixon:
Free 99.
Austin Wilson:
Free 99.
Tony Hixon:
So for my website, tonyhixon.com, you’re able to download a workbook. It serves as a companion piece to this book. So what in the preliminary stages of the manuscript writing, I couldn’t help, but think that, “Man, I’m asking a lot of questions throughout this book. How awesome would it be for the reader to be able to take notes.”
Austin Wilson:
Right.
Tony Hixon:
And to stop and pause that chapter and just do a quick mental check and a brain dump of what’s going on in their mind? What are my values that are important to me? What would a plan B look like? So this complimentary workbook will be available at tonyhixon.com for download, and the reader will be able to fill that out as they go through it.
Austin Wilson:
In addition to the book, which I hope everyone reads because it’s awesome. They can also follow you on social media. So we would encourage everyone to check Tony out. He’s on Facebook, LinkedIn, wherever, check them out, but also he has a great blog that he writes and sends out on Friday.
Josh Robb:
Yes. Really good.
Austin Wilson:
Check that out. And you can subscribe to that on your website as well.
Tony Hixon:
That’s right. Tonyhixon.com/blog. Yeah. People have been very kind with some thoughts, but oftentimes numbers people aren’t always on the creative side. Some people have been somewhat affirming to me that I’m a numbers guy and I can write creatively. So…
Josh Robb:
You do have a good writing style.
Tony Hixon:
Yeah.
Austin Wilson:
And it’s not all finance based.
Tony Hixon:
It’s not all finance.
Austin Wilson:
Which is something that’s a little refreshing.
Tony Hixon:
Yeah. It gives me an opportunity to break outside this normal box that I find myself in here at the office, and be able to be express myself a little bit more creatively. So I’ve had a lot of great feedback from that. Nothing that I’ve said is intended to be prideful. Hopefully your listeners if they will be able to in that weekly blog.
Josh Robb:
So he’s a man of many talents.
Austin Wilson:
I know.
Josh Robb:
Triathlete-
Austin Wilson:
Three, that’s three athlete.
Josh Robb:
Blogger.
Austin Wilson:
Blog. Author, now podcast star.
Josh Robb:
And you’re one of the fastest 10-key calculator people I’ve ever seen.
Tony Hixon:
Wow. Watch out. We should have a competition some time.
Josh Robb:
I don’t want, you would smoke me. I would have one finger typing and you’re over there with your little…
Austin Wilson:
Not even looking.
Josh Robb:
… ticker tape thing flying all over the place.
Tony Hixon:
That’s four years in a CPA firm, that’s what that’ll get you.
Austin Wilson:
Hey, that’s right. Well from the bottom of Josh and I’s heart, thank you Tony, for being a part of this and sharing your story with our listeners. And we hope that it leaves them wanting more because there is a lot more to learn, but it was just such a special episode where we got to chat with you about your new book, Retirement Stepping Stones. Find meaning, live with purpose and leave a legacy available at all fine retailers. A couple of things I wanted to leave you with is one, it’s still not too late to enter our second half stock draft competition. You might beat Josh.
Josh Robb:
You will beat Josh.
Austin Wilson:
You can actually enter all the way through the end of the year, check out our website for details on how to do that. Number two, as always check out our free gift to you, a brief list of eight principles of timeless investing, overarching investment themes, and to keep it on track to meet your long-term goals. It’s free on our website, we like free 99. Josh, how can people help us grow this podcast?
Josh Robb:
Yeah, make sure you subscribe, that way every Thursday it comes automatically to wherever you listen to it.
Austin Wilson:
Automatically.
Josh Robb:
Leave us a review on Apple podcasts. If something that we said here today, or you need to get in touch, you can reach out to us at helloattheinvesteddads.com. If you have questions for Tony we’ll pass on him and we know where he works because we work there too. But if something triggered something in here, we would love to be there to answer your questions or help you out. Then always if you know someone who’s getting close to that transition period or is going through it now, please share this episode with them, let them know about that book. It would be very beneficial.
Austin Wilson:
All right, well, until next week, Josh and I are signing off and until we have Tony back, which won’t be two years.
Tony Hixon:
We can hope.
Austin Wilson:
We’ll do it again.
Tony Hixon:
All right.
Austin Wilson:
Have a good week.
Tony Hixon:
Thank you guys for having me. The best is ahead.
Austin Wilson:
All right.
Josh Robb:
That’s right.
Tony Hixon:
Thanks. Bye.
Outro:
Thank you for listening to the Invested Dads Podcast. This episode has ended, but your journey towards a better financial future doesn’t have to. Head over to the investeddads.com to access all the links and resources mentioned in today’s show. If you enjoyed this episode and we had a positive impact on your life, leave us a review. Click subscribe and don’t miss the next episode. Josh Robb and Austin Wilson work for Hixon Zuercher Capital Management. All opinions expressed by Josh, Austin or any podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Hixon Zuercher Capital Management. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon for investment decisions. Clients of Hixon Zuercher Capital Management may maintain positions in the securities discussed in this podcast. There is no guarantee that the statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Indices are not available for direct investment. Any investor who attempts to mimic the performance of an index would incur fees and expenses, which would reduce returns. Securities investing involves risk, including the potential for loss of principal. There is no assurance that any investment plan or strategy will be successful.
