Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTMotley Fool Staff, The Motley FoolSun, July 19, 2026 at 10:21 PM GMT+2 21 min readIn this episode of Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing, Motley Fool retirement expert Robert Brokamp and Motley Fool employee Stephanie Marini discuss how to find the answers to questions such as:How do you know if your retirement plan is on track?Common rules of thumb like the 50-30-20 rule and ye olde 4% rule (and why it should be 5%).Age-based retirement savings benchmarks from financial-services firms.Free and premium calculators.Getting a professional second opinion from an experienced financial planner who charges by the hour or project — and where to find such a planner.To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. When you're ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy.Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »A full transcript is below.Before you buy stock in JPMorgan Chase, consider this:The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and JPMorgan Chase wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $371,842!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,244,783!*Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 900% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 207% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.See the 10 stocks »*Stock Advisor returns as of July 19, 2026.This podcast was recorded on July 4, 2026.Robert Brokamp: It's July 4th, the day America celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the official birthday of our nation. Nothing more American than financial independence. After all, retirement is the money-related goal shared by just about everyone. We thought it fitting that in this installment of our 2026 Financial Planning Challenge, airing on America's Independence Day, that we focus on retirement. How do you know if your retirement plan is on track? And how will you know that you're financially ready to bid adieu to the working world? Here to discuss how to find the answers to those questions? Is my Foolish colleague certified financial planner Stephanie Marini. Welcome back to the show, Stephanie.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info