Why Women in Menopause Are Investing Backwards—And You Should Too
Here's the thing about traditional investing: it's basically throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks to pay for your future. Meanwhile, pension fund managers have been quietly using a backwards-thinking strategy that's brilliant in its simplicity.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Flip your investing approach to work backwards from your actual life goals
Match your money to your timeline instead of crossing your fingers
Build bulletproof retirement income that laughs at inflation
WHEN YOUR FUTURE MEETS REALITY CHECK
You know that moment when you're scrolling through investment advice and everyone's talking about "balanced portfolios" while you're thinking about real stuff? Like how you'll actually pay for groceries when you're 75? Or whether you can afford that kitchen renovation without eating ramen for six months?
Most investment strategies treat your money like it exists in a vacuum. Liability-Driven Investing (LDI) says "hold up—let's get specific about what you actually need." Instead of building a portfolio and hoping it grows enough, LDI works backwards from "I know exactly what this will cost" and makes sure your investments can cover that bill.
Women constantly tell me they feel like they're investing blindfolded. One patient put it perfectly: "I'm supposed to save for retirement, but nobody's telling me how much I'll actually need or when I'll need it." LDI fixes this by turning investing from a guessing game into a matching game.
MONEY MOVES THAT ACTUALLY MATCH YOUR LIFE
1. Map Your Real Timeline (Perfect Matching)
Start with your actual goals and their real deadlines. Need steady income starting in 2045? That's not a "someday" goal—that's a 20-year liability. Perfect matching takes the guesswork out by purchasing investments that pay out exactly when you need the money.
For fixed expenses you know are coming:
Hormone therapy costs over the next 5 years
Bridge insurance between early retirement and Medicare
Known house repairs or renovations
How it works: Buy a government bond that pays you back in exactly 5 years with the face amount you need. When the bond comes due, you get the exact cash for your expense—completely protected from whatever the stock market is doing.
Best for: Expenses that won't change with inflation and have fixed timelines
2. Build Your Inflation Shield (Growing With Prices)
Here's what connects our experiences: menopause hits during peak earning years, but inflation keeps marching through retirement. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) are special government bonds that grow bigger when prices go up, so your future buying power stays intact.
Why this matters for us:
Healthcare costs rise faster than general inflation
Fixed incomes get crushed when everything costs more
That retirement nest egg needs to buy actual groceries, not theoretical ones
The magic: TIPS pay you interest on a bond value that grows with inflation. If prices go up 3% this year, your bond's value grows to match. Think of it as insurance for your groceries—when everything costs more, your investment grows to match.
Current reality: TIPS are available in 5-year, 10-year, and 30-year terms, letting you match your specific timeline.
3. Create Goal-Specific Buckets (Smart Risk Timing)
Stop putting all your money in one "retirement" bucket. Smart risk timing lets you take different levels of risk based on when you actually need the money.
The three-bucket approach:
Near-term bucket (0-5 years): Immediate menopause expenses, career transition costs
Medium-term bucket (5-15 years): Bridge to Medicare, early retirement funding
Long-term bucket (15+ years): Core retirement income, legacy planning
Smart risk allocation:
Near-term: Safe bonds and inflation-protected securities (you need this money soon)
Medium-term: Mix of safe and growth investments (matching when interest rates change)
Long-term: Higher allocation to stocks for growth potential (extra returns above what you need)
The breakthrough: Each bucket gets investments that come due exactly when you need them. This isn't diversification for diversification's sake—it's matching your money to your actual life. You can accept more risk in your long-term bucket because you have time to recover, while keeping your near-term money bulletproof.
This approach focuses on the extra cushion—the difference between what your investments deliver and what you actually need. Instead of hoping everything works out, you're building portfolios designed to hit specific targets at specific times.
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