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
Category: Retirement Planning
June 28, 2018 -- LakeSinclair (LS) posted this challenging comment on the Topretirements Forum last week: "I'm eight days away from retirement after being a college administrator for 40 years. Any thoughts on a particularly profound way to spend my first day?"
What a great question, thanks LS. It is worthy of a lot of thought. Part of the answer has to do with how far you have come in your pre-retirement planning. If you did a good job of that, then Day 1 can be even more celebratory. You know where you are going to retire, how you are going to stay busy, and you are confident you are on a path to a financially secure retirement. If your planning is not so far along, or maybe not even started yet, then perhaps
more...
Published on June 26, 2018
Comments 21
Category: Retirement Planning
By Craig Blouin
April 13, 2018 --- The warm, inviting glow of retirement on the horizon motivated me as I moved toward it during my last years in the workaday world. I’d put a good many miles on the roadway of life up to this point and now there was a sweeping curve up ahead. I sure wanted to have a look at what was around the other side.
Those last few miles seemed to take an inordinately long time to get through. But then I was there, the promised land: Retirement! After a rousing send-off by my work colleagues -- either sad or delighted to see me go -- finally it’s the first day of the rest of my life. Great! … So now what?
I’m not usually a goal-oriented sort of person, even though many years ago I’d attended a Covey Institute intensive workshop at the Sundance
more...
Published on April 12, 2018
Comments 9
Category: Retirement Planning
Some people really want to retire - but there are reasons why they can't.
Other folks want to keep on working - but there are pressures on them to retire.
April 4, 2018 -- Assuming you are lucky enough not to have found yourself unexpectedly retired, as so many baby boomers have, you might be wondering if this is the right time to retire. Unfortunately, there are so many different and unique situations that it is hard to assign a one-size-fits-all answer. In this article we will lay out some common situations where there is either pressure to retire or pressure against, and then some possible solutions. At the end what we are really hoping for is Member input for ideas on the best way to handle these situations. And, if you are looking for more articles on this topic, including case studies about actual people's retirement experiences, check out the Retirement Planning section of our Blog (67 articles).
Not just a number
Retirement shouldn't be just about a number - such as "I'm 65 so I better retire". Obviously the best time to retire is when you want to, and when you think you can afford to. Many people dream of retiring as soon as they can - even in their 30s. But others hope never to stop working. But sometimes there are other factors that force the issue. That is what we will talk about here.
Some different situations:
A basic consideration about when to retire is if you love your job or not. Another big one is, can you afford to retire? Not being in a financial position to call it quits adds extra pressure. Sometimes there might be multiple factors that affect your decision to retire or not.
Let's assume first
more...
Published on April 3, 2018
Comments 38
Category: Downsizing
March 23, 2018 -- Are you one of the many people who have been carefully amassing, polishing, and preserving all kinds of collections for posterity? Here is some really bad news - nobody wants it but you! As one furniture dealer, speaking about early 20th century goods, commented, “It’s never coming back.”
Recent articles in the New York Times and the NextAvenue.org blog highlighted this sad issue, which then generated an avalanche of emotional comments. It is very hard for people to part with objects that represent emotional or sentimental ties with the past. Many people develop feelings of guilt about losing objects tied to their ancestors, while others go into denial.
Here are some of the top 10 treasures that you might love, but nobody
more...
Published on March 22, 2018
Comments 63
Category: Checklists
Updated June, 2023 - Many important things in life rely on a three sided approach. Christianity has as the Holy Trinity the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A pyramid relies on 3 faces for stability. Less seriously, our brother likes to say that a good gumbo relies on the holy trinity of vegetables: green peppers, celery, and onions (we would add okra). We think there is a good case to be made that a good retirement relies on three key supports as well.
3 Pillars of Retirement
1. Health. Far too many people yearn for and plan for a great retirement, only to have those hopes shattered by a serious change in their health. Sometimes that happens before they retire, other times it happens not along after their working days end. Instead of enjoying golf, tennis, hiking, fishing, or whatever - you find yourself living a sedentary lifestyle, often with crushing medical expenses and painful treatments. Having a serious health change can also affect many other aspects of life too, such as where you live, and how you plan to stay busy in retirement.
The problem is that no one ever thinks bad medical news will happen to them. But too many times, one day
more...
Published on January 16, 2018
Comments 15
Category: Retirement Planning
November 18, 2017 -- Anybody who has spent any time preparing for their retirement quickly realizes that it isn't that easy. Sure, you can retire one day and just float along, but it probably won't work out too well. For one thing, you might not realize until too late that you can't afford to retire. Or you retire somewhere, not knowing that there is actually a much better place for you to retire. And even if you are wealthy, you might retire unhappily, woefully unprepared for how to stay busy and fulfilled.
In this article we have assembled our top 10 retirement tools for your consideration. They are tools we have used and know to be helpful. We have grouped them into categories for your convenience. As always, please share
more...
Published on November 18, 2017
Comments 24
Category: Retirement Planning
September 2, 2017 -- Results from the Employee Benefits Research Institute’s Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) paint a disturbing picture for many American workers. The percentage of pre-retirees who are very confident in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement continues to be low. On the other hand, people who are already retired report a much higher level of confidence that their finances will provide a comfortable retirement.
It is hard to say why the two groups - pre-retirees and the retired - report different levels of confidence. It could be that folks who are already retired know their situation and do not have the anxiety about the future that
more...
Published on September 1, 2017
Comments 34
Category: Retirement Planning
Editor’s note. This is another in our continuing series of articles exploring actual people’s retirement stories. Thanks so much to Gary and Pat for sharing theirs. See bottom of article for more baby boomer retirement articles.
September 1, 2017 -- When it comes to planning out a retirement and then living it to the fullest, this pair of former educators in the Michigan school system could teach the course. Gary grew up on a farm on Lake Michigan, and Pat grew up nearby. Both learned the value of hard work, and both loved living near the lake and exploring it winter and summer in their childhood and working days.
The pair have always been enthusiastic runners, bikers, and tennis players. They met as competitive cross country ski racers, crisscrossing
more...
Published on August 31, 2017
Comments 51
