Choules Financial

Social Security can look simple on the surface: choose when to file and start collecting your benefit. But behind that decision are a lot of moving pieces, especially for married couples.

Your age, your spouse’s age, individual earnings histories, spousal benefits, survivor benefits, and retirement timeline can all influence the decision. That’s why Social Security shouldn’t be viewed in isolation—it should be coordinated with your broader retirement income and tax strategy.

The goal isn’t simply to pick a filing age. It’s to understand how Social Security fits into the bigger picture so you can make an informed decision that supports your Life of YES.

One of the biggest questions in retirement is simple: Will my money last?

But once you know you have enough, the conversation changes. How can you confidently spend that money on the experiences, people, and things that make retirement meaningful? That’s where a well-designed income plan becomes so important.

And income doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Where you take your money from can have tax consequences, which means your income and tax strategies need to work together.

Retirement planning isn’t just about having enough, it’s about knowing how to use what you’ve built efficiently so more of it can support your Life of YES.

A retirement portfolio should have a purpose beyond simply growing.

Once you retire, one of its most important jobs is turning what you’ve accumulated into income that supports the life you’ve worked so hard to build. That income is what helps fund the trips, dinners, time with family, and everyday experiences that make up your Life of YES.

That’s why the conversation in retirement needs to shift from “How much can my investments grow?” to...

“How can my investments support the income and lifestyle I need?”

Your investments are the fuel, but your retirement is the destination.

Retirement changes the job of your investment portfolio.

During your working years, the focus is often on accumulation—consistently contributing and giving your investments time to recover from market swings. Once retirement begins, you’re doing the opposite: taking money out to support your lifestyle.

That’s why we often say, “What got us here won’t get us there.” The investment strategy that helped you accumulate wealth may not be the same strategy you need to distribute it.

When withdrawals begin, market volatility can have a much greater impact, making it critical to build a portfolio specifically designed to support your retirement income.

At Choules Financial, living a Life of YES means something unique to each member of our team. For Noelle Urbiola, it starts with helping people feel confident about their financial future.

After earning her degree from BYU, becoming a licensed financial advisor, and building her expertise in the financial services industry, Noelle Urbiola joined Choules Financial with a passion for helping clients navigate retirement with clarity and confidence. She believes that when every part of your financial life is working together, you can spend less time worrying about money and more time enjoying what matters most.

Personally, living a Life of YES means saying yes to experiences that bring people together. Whether it's traveling, trying a new restaurant, or gathering with family and friends, Noelle believes the best moments in life happen when you have the confidence to enjoy them without financial uncertainty.

That's why she's passionate about helping clients create a plan that brings together all five worlds of retirement planning—investments, income, taxes, healthcare, and legacy—so clients can focus on living the life they've worked so hard to build.

One of the biggest misconceptions in retirement planning is that investments are the biggest concern. In reality, most people are far more worried about everything surrounding those investments.

Questions like: Will my income last? How much will I owe in taxes? What happens if healthcare costs rise? How do I leave money to my family efficiently? Those are the concerns that keep retirees up at night.

A strong investment portfolio is important, but without a plan, it can actually magnify these challenges. That's why retirement planning should go beyond simply managing assets. It should include a coordinated strategy for your income, taxes, healthcare, and legacy, so every piece is working together to support the retirement you've worked so hard to achieve.