Blog
Weekly articles about how to live a secure, fulfilling retirement.
Maximizing retirement: Maintenance vs. Milestones
No matter what exciting plans you have for retirement, you will still have a good many maintenance type activities that pop up on your calendar every day or every week; things like sleeping, eating, paying bills, going to the doctor, getting groceries, mowing the...
Maximizing retirement: Assets vs. Experiences
As you move toward retirement, consider the merits of building a life that is light on fixed assets and heavy on experiences. When younger, most people want a bigger house to fit the kids and keep up with the Joneses. They want to live in a great neighborhood with...
Social Security: When can I file?
If you are eligible to receive Social Security benefits, you can begin collecting reduced benefits as early as age sixty-two. As you can see from the chart below, however, most people (all 78 million baby boomers included), will need to be on the downhill slide to...
Seven signs it’s time to retire
Deciding when to retire is not always easy. Many people simply base the decision on their birthday, but there are a whole host of other factors that should weigh into your thinking as well. Here are seven signs it's time to retire: 1. Your bank account When you...
Should you move when you retire?
After putting down roots during their working years, it’s no surprise that most people choose to stay put when they retire. According to a study by Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, only about 10 percent of older adults move in any given two-year...
Be specific with retirement plans
At the risk of sounding obvious, you have a much greater chance of accomplishing a goal if you know exactly what it is you want to do. Someone committed to going to Harvard has a much greater chance of ending up there than does someone who just wants to go to...
Seven ways to disaster-proof your life
Have you ever wondered what you would do if you suddenly became the victim of a natural disaster, terrorist attack, fire or other unexpected event? Would you know what to grab if you had only seconds to escape your house? The plans you’ve made in advance and the...
Be ready for all phases of retirement
For many, the phrase "retirement planning" has become limited to the planning done in the years leading up to retirement. When you consider that your retirement could last for 20 to 30 years, however, it’s easy to see that your planning won’t end once you transition...
The arithmetic of loss
“Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment.” I’m not sure who said that, but it sure is true. When considering investment lessons learned from the financial train wreck of last few years, many people at or near retirement are likely...
When do you plan on retiring?
Chances are you’ve been asked that question before. Maybe by your spouse or a co-worker. Maybe by your kids. When someone asks you that question, is the answer you give a date or a dollar amount? For most people it’s a date. Something like “March of next year.”...
Three crucial questions
At almost every stage in life, you need to answer three crucial questions. How you answer them will influence the arc of your life for decades to come. What are they? 1) Where do I want to live? 2) What do I want to do? 3) Who do I want to do it with? Think back...