Before the Strategy Comes the Conversation
Are you prepared for a lifetime of Saturdays?
Mike F. Moss is a financial advisor and retirement income planning professional in Boardman, Ohio. Known professionally as The Buckets Guy, he is affiliated with Lighthouse Financial Strategies, Ltd. and focuses on helping pre-retirees and retirees coordinate retirement income, investments, taxes, and legacy planning.
When the paycheck stops, every day becomes a Saturday — and the real question is whether your plan is ready for all of them.
It Starts With One Question
Most people think retirement income planning is about investments.
It isn't.
It's about understanding what's most important to you — and building a plan designed to protect it.
That's why every conversation begins with one question:
What's most important to you — and why?
Most families spend more time planning next year's vacation than they spend planning the next twenty or thirty years of their lives. Retirement deserves at least as much thought as the trip.
Every family's answer is different. For some, it's the confidence of knowing their retirement paycheck won't depend on what the market did this month. For others, it's protecting a surviving spouse. For many, it's the peace of mind that comes from knowing there's a thoughtful plan in place — one they understand, one they trust, and one designed to help them navigate both good markets and difficult ones.
Those answers become the foundation. The bucket structure, tax strategy, and income sequence are built to support what matters most.
Our role is to organize your wealth around your priorities so your money supports your life — not the other way around.
"This is the most effective income planning strategy I have found in my 30 years in retirement planning." — Mike F. Moss, Senior Financial Consultant
Mike F. Moss is the Founder and Senior Financial Consultant of Lighthouse Financial Strategies, an independent retirement planning firm serving pre-retirees and retirees throughout Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. For more than 30 years, Mike has helped individuals and families navigate one of life's most important financial transitions — the shift from building wealth to creating a reliable retirement income.
Drawing on decades of experience, Mike developed the Beacon 360 Process®, a structured retirement planning process that begins with listening before recommending. Rather than leading with products or investments, Beacon 360 focuses on understanding each family's goals, concerns, values, and vision for retirement before designing a personalized retirement income strategy around what matters most.
Mike is also the author of Bucketing to Retire with Confidence, a practical, easy-to-understand guide to retirement income planning. The book introduces his bucket-based retirement income philosophy through memorable concepts such as The Critical Window, The Money Cycle, The Starbucks® Cup of Coffee, and his guiding principle, "We Never Take Income from a Growth Asset." These concepts help readers better understand how to generate retirement income while managing market volatility, taxes, inflation, and long-term financial confidence.
"My passion is helping clients gain clarity and confidence through personalized retirement income planning." — Mike F. Moss
Outside the office, Mike has been married to his wife, Maria, for more than 36 years. Together they have two sons, one daughter, and one granddaughter — with hopes the family will continue to grow. He has coached youth baseball and basketball for many years and has served as a Personal Management Merit Badge Counselor with a local troop of the Boy Scouts of America. An active member of Toastmasters, Mike enjoys public speaking and lifelong learning. In his free time, he enjoys sports, pickleball, swimming, pool, ping-pong, and performing in local community theater productions, where he has appeared in acting, singing, and dancing roles.
Helping people retire with clarity and confidence through personalized retirement income planning.