Blog
Weekly articles about how to live a secure, fulfilling retirement.
You’re doing it wrong
I’ve seen some disturbing data points recently: 78 percent of American workers report living paycheck to paycheck. This became very visible during the recent government shutdown.40 percent of Americans said they couldn’t cover a $400 unexpected expense without going...
Is today the day you’ll start?
In January I wrote a lot about health. You can’t be unhealthy—mentally, emotionally, physically—and have a great retirement. While that's true, it’s also true that you are fighting a losing battle. No matter how much kale you eat or how many marathons you run, your...
How to keep loneliness from ruining your retirement
Quick summary: Loneliness and depression are growing problems with the baby boom generation. In this article I talk about why that is, the problems that it causes and a few ideas on how to fix it. Loneliness is the sadness you feel when there’s a gap (in quality or...
12 Tips for a healthy retirement
Are you trying to take better care of yourself this year? Great! We enjoy having you around. Here are 12 simple ways to be healthier, both now and in retirement. Forgive. Researchers have discovered a link between forgiveness and physical health. One...
Do your actions match your aspirations?
Happy New Year! It’s that wonderful time of year when we all get a blank slate and a chance to make a resolution or two. That got me thinking about actions and aspirations. What if I told you that my goal for 2019 was to become an...
How to use your IRA to give to charity and reduce your taxes.
Qualified Charitable Distributions Once you reach age 70 ½ you need to start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your IRA each year. There’s a simple formula to determine how much you need to take. Then you just withdraw the money and—here’s the...
4 Days in Italy
Home again, Home again. Apparently I can travel faster than I can write. I made it home Tuesday in the small hours of the morning, but I still have several articles I want to share with you including about my time in Italy and Germany as well as my reflections on and...
An ancient lesson on living with a sense of urgency
I mentioned that the book I brought on this trip was Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, ruler of the Roman Empire from 161 to 180 AD. To the extent that I read books on philosophy, I tend to enjoy those that give practical insights into how we should live. As a...
3 days in France
France is a few days in my rear-view mirror, but I still wanted to share a few quick stories about my time there. I flew from Hong Kong to London to Paris (HKG to LHR to CDG in airport parlance), picked up a rental car and drove a few hours to the charming town of...
What are you afraid of?
What are you afraid of? Be honest. We all have stuff that scares us. Maybe it’s something big. Maybe small. Regardless of what it is, the outcome is often the same: Stasis. Fear acts as a roadblock that keeps us from doing something. Fear is often the great...
3 days in Hong Kong
Greetings from Hong Kong! The trip has been great so far. The flight from LA was a bit of a marathon (I slept for eight hours and still had time to watch four movies), but the payoff has been worth it. The city is a super interesting mix of people, cultures and...
A practical guide to planning and packing for trips
Planning Tomorrow I get on plane and start a 25,000-mile journey around the world (I’ll share my first stop at the end of this article). The purpose of the trip is to have a little fun and to hopefully inspire and encourage each of you to be intentional and proactive...