Blog
Weekly articles about how to live a secure, fulfilling retirement.
You will be who you are becoming
"You will be who you are becoming." ~Gavin Johnson One of the pastors at my church said that this past Sunday. I thought it was really insightful. You’re never going to wake up one morning and be something that you haven’t been becoming little by little, day by day,...
Monthly rewind: March edition
Each month, I post a quick summary of the new articles at the site for anyone who may have missed something. March’s articles are below. One small change that will produce huge results How and why to be a lifelong learner How to minimize taxes in retirement Kindle...
Required Minimum Distributions due April 1 for some
When you reach age 70 1/2, the government requires you to begin taking minimum amounts from your retirement accounts. These Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are generally due by December 31 of each year. However, your first distribution can be delayed until...
Get your dreams off the drawing board
To get your retirement dreams off the drawing board, you need a combination of ideas and execution. Having one without the other is pretty much useless. In his recent book “Anything You Want,” Derek Sivers discussed this concept in relation to starting a business,...
Kindle Touch Giveaway
I wanted you, my loyal, long suffering readers to be the first to know that I just launched a Facebook page for Intentional Retirement. To help spread the word about the page I’m giving away an Amazon Kindle Touch to one lucky person who “Likes” the page. Here’s how...
How to minimize taxes in retirement
Update: Before jumping into today's article I wanted to give you an update on the learning post from last week. It must have struck a chord with the IR community (who, like those from Lake Wobegon are good looking and above average), because it was the most read and...
How (and why) to be a lifelong learner
Show me someone who loves to learn new things and I’ll show you someone who will most likely have an interesting, rewarding retirement. Why is that? Learning comes with a host of benefits like: It keeps your mind sharp It keeps you engaged with advances in society...
One small change that will produce huge results
The question I’m asked most frequently by clients about their retirement is this: “Will I have enough?” If baby boomers are losing sleep over an issue, that’s it. And I don’t blame them. There’s a lot hanging on the answer to that question. Having enough means...
Say yes to adventure
I had the following text message exchange about a month ago with a friend of mine: Him: Call me when you have a second. Me: Will do. I’ll call you when I leave my nephew’s birthday party. Him: I am buying a Volvo SUV and I can save 6% if I go to Sweden and pick it...
How to turn your savings into an income stream
(Note: This is Part 3 in a 3 part series that I did for the Omaha World Herald on retirement planning for different life stages.) To state the obvious, farming and cooking are two different things. One is about creating. The other is about consuming. A similar...
Abe Lincoln’s favorite poem
Happy President’s Day! I learned recently that President Lincoln’s favorite poem was “Mortality” by William Knox. For me, the poem is a great reminder for how quickly life goes by. As Knox says: “’Tis the twink of an eye, ‘tis the draught of a breath, From the...
A little something for you on Valentine’s Day
Good morning all. Happy Valentine's Day! Have I told you lately how grateful I am for each of you? Well, I am. To say thanks for being a loyal reader and to have a little fun, I thought I'd do an impromptu Valentine's Day Contest. The prize? I'm giving away 20...