Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
February 2, 2012 — We have just updated our 2010 article that compared retirement in South Carolina vs. North Carolina. Since you might have trouble finding it that far back in our Blog, we are publishing the link here: //www.topretirements.com/blog/great-towns/dueling-carolinas-north-carolina-vs-south-carolina-as-the-best-retirement-state.html/?awt_l=5x8Ih&awt_m=Iwrh29qzmRaAA4 The article compares cost of living, taxes of…
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Published on February 2, 2012
Comments 33
Category: Retirement Planning
By Betty Fitterman
Note: This is Part 1 in series. Here is the link to Part 2: "Living on a Dime, Or So It Would Seem".
When we retired in July of 2008, we thought we were set for retirement. After all, we had over a million dollars in the bank, had just sold both house and condo, furniture and cars, and we’d settled in for a wonderful ride across the country in our new home, a classy motor coach with all the bells and whistles anybody could ask for. Little did we know.
If you want all the details of our three-year odyssey, you can see them all on my blog, but for now I want to talk to you about the money. And where it went. And went. And went.
First of all,
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Published on February 1, 2012
Comments 8
Category: Retirement Real Estate
January 24, 2012 -- One of the most frequent questions we get is on how to find a retirement rental. Usually it is a snowbird looking for a warm winter retreat, while other times it is a retiree looking to try out an active adult community before buying there. Whatever the reason, many people are interested in the rental option, which we always think is a good idea. Here are our top suggestions on how to find a seasonal rental apartment or home for your retirement.
1. Ask your friends. This is usually the surest fire method. If you have friends
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Published on January 24, 2012
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Category: Retirement Planning
January 24, 2012 -- Retirement, like so many important parts of life, is a process. It is a project that requires planning, and occasionally a bit of trial and error. Last week we wrote about 7 things you need to do - right now - if you are going to successfully retire this year. This article will focus on some of the common misconceptions we think many people have about retirement. Many of the misconceptions turn out to be downers; we offer them in the hope that you can use them to avoid problems in your own retirement. For more on this topic we recommend Emily Brandon's US News & World Report article, "7 Misconceptions about Retirement", which provides some different perspectives.
1. I will retire later than I originally planned. Although according to the EBRI more than half of the workers interviewed said they would retire after 65, the actual trend is
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Published on January 23, 2012
Comments 8
Category: Retirement Planning
January 17, 2012 -- First, congratulations. You have worked hard and deserve a great retirement. We encourage you to follow the advice in this article to help you do just that. Links to additional resources are provided as well.
1. Figure out how much you are spending. Most financial advisors would agree that their clients tend to underestimate their spending and overestimate their incomes. The only way to be safe is to start recording your spending. Only then can you get a clear picture of what you are spending and where it is going. If out of line with your income, you have a chance to do something about it.
2. Analyze when to start taking Social Security. Even though you can
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Published on January 17, 2012
Comments 5
Category: Active adult communities
Note: This is the latest in our series of adventurous retiree profiles Our goal is to portray a variety of active baby boomer retirement lifestyles for our members. If you know a boomer retirement we should know about tell us via the Contact Us link.
Len and Ann are the kind of people that don’t like to stand still. And that's a trait which perfectly qualifies them to be residents of The Villages, that giant, non-stop fun active community of 100,000 people near Ocala, Florida. Here is their story - we hope you find it useful to learn more about how they came about deciding to living here, and what it is really like to live in The Villages.
What They Did Before Retirement
Len had a long career as an IT guy at SNET, the former
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Published on January 17, 2012
Comments 90
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
January 3, 2012 -- Key West, a great place to live as well as retirement spot, is the scene of a new murder mystery series launching today. What's more the author of "An Appetite for Murder" is the wife of your Topretirements editor, writing under the pen name Lucy Burdette.
Roberta Isleib (aka Lucy) set the scene for her third mystery series in Key West, that bohemian, food-focused resort town. An Appetite for Murder, published by NAL/Penguin on January 3, features her new character, Hayley Snow, as an aspiring food critic and amateur
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Published on January 3, 2012
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
January 3, 2012 -- For baby boomers who decide to retire on one of the coasts, the cost of home owners insurance can turn out to be a most unpleasant surprise. Worse, these costs can escalate from year to year and provide a threat to your happy retirement. In this article we will review some of the top things you can do to both reduce your premiums and prevent them from escalating out of control in the future. You are not powerless to accept premium increases, if you are pro-active.
1. Talk with your agent. Your agent, if she is a good one, should be able to
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Published on January 3, 2012
Comments 2
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Editor's Note: We are indebted, as we so often, to our senior member OldNassau for suggesting this topic. Thanks!
January 2, 2012 -- Resale value, Neighborhood, Home Owners Association fees, Amenities, Taxes, Climate - check, check, check, check, check, and check! Most people looking at a place to retire usually carefully consider these and many other factors before they make an offer on a home. Unfortunately, they often miss what can turn out to be an extremely important factor - the cost of home owners insurance premiums for that new home. While the cost of home insurance might not be terribly important in many areas of the country, it is critical in regions that are subject to natural disasters like
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Published on January 2, 2012
Comments 13
Category: Health and Wellness Issues
By Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
The ever-present question
It is such a fatiguing topic and one that is filled with emotion and fear. As a nation we can hardly get past it and present solutions are sometimes as hard to handle as the problem itself.
I’m talking about the price of the administration of health care.
High cost and obstacles
We know a couple who pays $1,200 a month for a catastrophic, high deductible plan in the States and they have never had a claim. Another couple pays $2,000 a month just for the husband’s ability to be insured with his pre-existing heart condition. Some people are not able to be covered at all with US insurance companies due to a completely cleared up medical condition that
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Published on December 30, 2011
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