If you are a DIY investor planning to retire within the next 24 months, you are likely feeling a mix of excitement and "analysis paralysis." There is a massive amount of data to track, and it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture.

To help you stay on track, I’ve built a specialized Retirement Dashboard. Today, I’m walking you through how to use it to close out your year and audit your plan for the future.

You can check out my video on this topic here.

Phase 1: The Annual Life Audit

Before we look at the spreadsheets, we have to look at the life those spreadsheets are funding. I have to give credit to entrepreneur Jesse Itzler here—he has a fantastic way of closing out a year that transfers perfectly to a retirement audience.

Grade Your Year (1-10) You instinctually know how your year went. If you blended everything up, what score would you give yourself? Think of it like a school test: a 7 out of 10 is a "C."

To get a true picture of your "Retirement Readiness," break that grade down into four categories:

1. Relationships

2. Health

3. Work

4. Adventure

By grading these now, you can set a clear intention for where you want to improve next year. If you have all the money in the world but your "Health" or "Relationships" scores are a 4, your retirement won't feel like a win.

Phase 2: The Tactical Retirement Checklist

On the right side of the dashboard, we have the "hard" numbers. I’ve placed the most frequently neglected items at the top.

1. Taxes: The Three-Rate Comparison

Most DIY investors focus on their tax bracket today. To be successful, you must understand your projected tax rate in three different phases:

• Your rate Today (while working).

• Your rate In Retirement (after you stop working but before Social Security/RMDs).

• Your rate at RMD Age (when the government forces you to take money out).

2. Estate Planning: The "Disgrace" Factor

Estate planning is the easiest thing to let slide for a decade. Do you have a will? Is your trust funded? Are your beneficiaries correct? If you’ve done the hard work of building wealth, failing to title your assets correctly is a "disgrace" to your legacy. Just get it done.

3. Cash Flow: The Lifeblood of Retirement

If you don't have cash flow, you aren't retired; you're just unemployed.

• Social Security: Most people are pleasantly surprised by this number once they actually run the report.

• Passive Income: Look at the dividends and interest from your taxable accounts. This is "clean" money you can redirect to your bank account without triggering the massive tax hit that comes from a 401(k) or IRA withdrawal.

4. The Portfolio: Discipline Over Emotion

You don’t have an advisor monitoring your accounts daily, so you need a framework:

• The Drawdown Reality: Know your current allocation’s "Max Drawdown." When was the last time it dropped 20% or 30%? Don't just look at the percentage—look at the dollar amount. Seeing a "$-600,000" drop on paper helps you stomach the volatility when it actually happens.

• The Quarterly Review: Establish a discipline. Ask yourself: "Is this investment doing what I expected? What are the drivers of this performance?" This prevents you from making emotional "panic" swaps.

Get Started

Retirement isn't just about a "number." It's about a framework that allows you to stop worrying about the market and start focusing on those 1-10 life grades.

At Barrett FP LLC, we offer expert financial planning on an hourly basis, focused entirely on helping you read your objective, data-driven retirement dashboard.