Category: Retirement Planning
December 5, 2018 -- This is Part 2 of our report on our recent Snowbird Survey. Part 1, "Florida is Favorite Snowbird Destination", contained the detailed results on the survey's first 9 questions. This installment is mostly made up of verbatim comments detailing where people snowbird to, and how they get there. Because these are actual comments from real people on this issue, we think you will find it a great source of ideas and comparisons to your own thoughts and experiences.
This article has three sections: Section 1 will start will overall observations, Section 2 is a sampling of 351 overall comments made to Question 10, "Anything More to Say", and Section 3 has a link to all 166 comments made to Question 8, "How Hard Was It to Find a Place to Snowbird".
Section 1: Observations
Driving vs. Flying. More people drive to their snowbird destination than fly; the ratio is about 3 to 1 in favor of driving. Top reasons for driving include: having a car at the destination, more room for stuff, taking pets, and visiting/exploring on the way are . Avoiding a multi-day, long drive is a top reason for flying. Many people who fly either keep a car at the destination, or have the car driven down.
East vs. West snowbirds. As is usually the case with Topretirements surveys, the majority of our audience is east coast based, mostly from the Northeast or Midwest. Although there were some folks who cross the Mississippi to either
more...
Published on December 4, 2018
Comments 16
Category: Retirement Planning
November 26, 2018 -- Thanks to the almost 700 members who generously contributed their insights to last week's "Snowbird" poll. We appreciate you sharing! As promised, here in Part 1 is our first detailed report on the summary for each question. Part 2 features a compilation of the most popular snowbird pairings (where our Members say they want to snowbird to, and from where), along with how they get there and other details of their migrations.
HighlightsYour input confirms many of our pre-conceived opinions, along with some surprises. For example, it is not news that the top snowbird destination states are Florida, Arizona, and South Carolina - in that order. But we were surprised by how many people have a reverse migration pattern; they pack up and go somewhere cooler in the summer. One Member called himself a "sweatbird", "shadebird" might be another handle!
more...
Published on November 26, 2018
Comments 13
Category: Retirement Planning
October 31, 2018 -- A provocative question we hear from time to time is, "Where do you think you'll be, and what will you be doing, when you turn 80 and move toward 90?" Forward thinking helps insure that you arrive at the place that you want to be, ready for the challenges that might be there.
The purpose of this short article is to solicit brief answers from our Topretirements community on this question - how will your lifestyle differ from what it is now in your 60s or 70s? Please refrain from saying you will probably be dead - half of us will live into our 80s - and we need to understand what we should be
more...
Published on October 30, 2018
Comments 44
Category: Retirement Planning
September 25, 2018 — We love your Comments to the Topretirements.com Blog! Our Members consistently say they are one of the most valuable features of this site. BUT….one of our regular contributors made yet a great suggestion that might make this feature even better. He is frustrated with some Comments…
more...
Published on September 24, 2018
Comments 0
Category: Retirement Planning
By Bob Stacy
National Institute of Transition Planning
September 15, 2018 -- I am consistently amazed when conducting my NITP “Transition to Retirement” sessions when I ask participants a very simple question: "Do you know how much you spend each year?" The answer is almost universally "no"!
Retirement income should be easier to calculate
In preparing for retirement you should know approximately what your income will be. If you are a federal or state worker or you are employed by a larger company, you can visit your HR department and have them provide an estimate of your annuity or pension, which will probably be your main source of retirement income. Then you can add other possible sources of projected income such as 401Ks, Social Security, investment income, TSPs, part-time work and maybe even inheritance. If you don't have a pension, it will probably be slightly easier to estimate your income.
No matter how much income you may have forthcoming, no one should retire if you don’t know what you actually spend each month. Running out of money in retirement is one of the worst things that can happen to you. So I suggest that you not consider retirement until you know your
more...
Published on September 13, 2018
Comments 4
Category: Downsizing
August 6, 2018 -- In addition to death and taxes, you can add one more to the list of things you can't avoid. Whether you call it decluttering, ridding out, or downsizing - the job has to be done, sooner or later. Sooner.... if you plan on moving to a different home in retirement. Later... even if you die without emptying out your basement, attic, garage, overflowing closets, and countless drawers - your children or heirs are going to have the thankless task of getting rid of everything you managed to hoard all these years. And the job is even harder if you plan on moving to a tiny home, boat, or RV.
Last year we surveyed our Members to find out how they are doing at downsizing. The answer is
more...
Published on August 5, 2018
Comments 15
Category: Retirement Planning
July 25, 2018 -- Note: Last week we reported on the statistical results from our 12 question poll about where members want to retire, and why. (See" When It Comes to Where to Retire, Climate and Weather Rule"). This week we are reprinting a sampling from the hundreds of comments you made to the survey, which reveal a fascinating depth of detail on retirement choices and reasons. We hope you enjoy them as well as find them helpful!
We have arranged the comments into themes where they seemed to fit. The major themes are: Reasons for choosing a retirement area, Particular states/regions chosen and why, and type of community. Each "--" indicates a new comment from a different person. There were
more...
Published on July 24, 2018
Comments 7
Category: Retirement Planning
July 16, 2018 -- Thanks to the more than 750 members who took the time to contribute their valuable insights to last week's "Where You'll Live and Why" poll. We appreciate you sharing! As promised, here is our first detailed report on the summary for each question. Within the next few days we will publish a second article which will feature the fascinating comments the poll generated.
HighlightsYour input confirms many opinions we hold about retirement preferences in general, along with some surprises. For example, it is not much of a stretch to bet that most of you are interested in retiring to a warm weather clime, with the Southeast (Florida) and Southwest at the top of your preferences. We did not expect to see the level of interest there was in a suburban environment.
more...
Published on July 16, 2018
Comments 24
Category: Checklists
July 10, 2018 -- Think of your retirement as if it were a rocket poised for liftoff at Cape Canaveral. You, flight safety, are going through an elaborate countdown, ticking off countless items from exhaustive checklists. Only when everything is lined up properly is permission granted for your retirement launch!
In this piece we'll go through a five year countdown to retirement, an excellent idea developed in a NY Times feature last week by retirement expert Peter Finch. Without first looking at what he proposed, we took our own crack at this countdown idea... and look forward to comparing notes (a link to his article is at bottom).
Five, four, three, two, one - retirement blastoff!
Although we have tried to concentrate each year on one major task, that doesn't mean you should not be thinking about other planning aspects. This is a suggested timetable - you don't have to be rigid about which planning area gets emphasized each year - but these are the important areas to consider. What is important is to tackle all the key planning bases with the remaining time you have before "blastoff". Think where you live now is the best place for you to retire, and don't need to bother? Going through this planning process helps guarantee that as a mindful decision, rather than planning by just letting things happen.
Five years out - Finances rule
Your most important task this year is prepare a financial balance sheet that shows what your expected income will be compared to your retirement expenses. By taking a serious
more...
Published on July 9, 2018
Comments 4
Category: Retirement Planning
July 9, 2018 — We think one of the most interesting questions about retirement is where people decide to retire – and why. In this short poll we list a number of potential reasons why someone might prefer one area to another, and ask you to rank them in order…
more...
Published on July 8, 2018
Comments 3
