Category: Snowbirds
June 15, 2022 -- One of the most frequent questions we get from Members is how to find a snowbird rental for the winter as a snowbird. Their questions usually center on where to go, and how to find a good one. In this article we will share some basic steps on how to get started. Best of all, we will highlight some of the most interesting and useful Comments from our Members on this topic.
Two Keys to SuccessThe keys to success in finding a good snowbird rental are quite simple: get started early, and use every option you can think of. One strategy that rarely yields good results is hoping to luck into something at the last minute.
How to Find a Snowbird Rental - Many Advantages
There are many advantages to finding a snowbird rental in a warm place for some or all of the winter. There is the obvious one: it gets you out of the frozen Midwest, icy Northeast, or the dark/dreary/wet Pacific Northwest for a pleasant interlude in the sun. Another big advantage of snowbird rentals is that they give you a chance to see and experience different parts of the country with very little risk or expense. If you ever decide to purchase a place either as a snowbird or for year-round living, you will be a much more educated buyer. Yet another advantage: it provides an opportunity to be visit friends and family without overstaying your welcome.
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Published on June 14, 2022
Comments 5
Category: Active adult communities
June 8, 2022 -- It is fascinating to see which of the thousands of 55 plus and active communities reviewed at Topretirements attract the most attention from our Members and visitors. After examining site visit data from the first 5 months of 2022, here are the 15 most popular communities in the states west of the Mississippi at Topretirements. If you are considering communities east of here, don't miss the "Most Popular Active Adult Communities in the Southeast".
A few words about these selections
The most amazing thing about these communities is their diversity and variety. We are not sure why they emerged at the top of popularity (most page views on our site), but they are the communities our Members and guests most wanted to learn about. Their variety speaks to the idea that there no cookie cutter community approach that appeals to everyone. Instead, people are very different in what they are looking for - and the good thing is there is a community for everyone. While these active adult and 55+ communities are very different, they are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the variety that is available in the U.S. Interesting enough, only one of these communities, Quail Run, was a repeat from our 2019 ranking.
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Published on June 8, 2022
Comments 3
Category: Social Security
June 6, 2022 -- Social Security Trust Funds are now projected to last one year longer, as outlined in the latest Trustees Report. High employment rates and lower disability claims, it seems, have increased contributions to the retirement fund (OASI).
Thanks to those, instead of the retirement trust fund (OASI) becoming exhausted in 2033, that event has been pushed back to 2034. The disability (DI) fund is now expected to last at least for 75 years, up from 2057. At this time, there is no consensus among experts on the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trustees currently assume that the pandemic will have no net effect on their long-range projections. The assumptions for their report were determined in mid-February 2022, and they are uncertain regarding the path of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economy in the near-term.
Based on their best estimates, the 2022 reports determine:
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Published on June 6, 2022
Comments 12
Category: Retirement Planning
June 4, 2022 – Five years ago we opined about the 10 things we think we learned after ten years of being retired. We took another look at that article, and it all still makes sense. But we couldn’t resist adding three more that hadn’t occurred the first time. Here…
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Published on June 3, 2022
Comments 0
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
May 31, 2022 -- Many of America's most hated companies are the cable, internet and telephone giants - Comcast/Xfinity, Century Link, Sprint, etc. People dread calling these behemoths for customer service, because they know they will get into a never-ending telephone tree that make it very difficult to speak to a human being. They also don't like the bills that come along with telephone, cable and internet service. The bill starts out looking reasonable, but after you add in the modem and cable box rental fees, broadcast and sports fees, and 6 different kinds of taxes, the total tab can easily approach $300/monthly. Adding more sports packages and HBO can send it north of that. And of course, every year the bill goes up. For retirees on a budget, these bills can become just too much.
After talking with friends your editor decided to cut the cord - or at least 2 of the cords - home phone and cable. Here is how he did it.
Alternative to cable TV
There are several good alternatives to cable TV.
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Published on May 30, 2022
Comments 14
Category: Adventurous retirement
May 26, 2022 -- Sooner or later the "what are you going to do" question comes up in conversations about retirement. For a whole lot of people their answer is: "Maybe we'll take a river cruise". Then the big question is where? There are so many great possibilities. For sake of conversation, here are 10 of the best ideas for river cruises, and we would love to hear Member suggestions as well. We will publish another article on other types of cruises in the future.
What kind of river trip?
For the purposes of this article we are breaking these cruises into 4 categories: American, European, International, and Adventure. In addition to where you take your river trip, you also need to decide what company will take you down that river, and in what kind of style. There are a number of companies that offer river cruises for a host of different budgets and tastes, so you don't have to stick with the brand names you might have heard about. Talking with friends and your travel agent is a good way to find the one best suited to your needs and budget. We will list some of those operators under each category, but if you search the Internet you will be pleased with how many options there are.
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Published on May 25, 2022
Comments 3
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
May 17, 2022 — People pick places to retire for a lot of reasons. How pretty it is, closeness to family, climate, low taxes, having a college, access to recreation or the wilderness, etc. But another really excellent reason is finding one that offers the amenities that match your lifestyle desires. In this article we will explore 11 great places to retire with particularly outstanding amenities. Our apologies in advance to any town we might have overlooked, we know there are many additional contenders that should have been included. Please provide your suggestions in the Comments section below!
11 Great Towns for AmenitiesHere in no particular order is our list of 11 retirement towns that offer exceptional amenities to their residents. We have tried to provide diversity to the list in terms of geography, size, type of amenity, and whether we have highlighted them before. Our biggest problem – we had too many towns to mention!
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Published on May 17, 2022
Comments 5
Category: Retirement Real Estate
May 10, 2022 -- People living in a retirement face a new and growing problem - short term renters. While the problem is more acute in resort communities, it can occur almost anywhere.
Imagine living in a peaceful community where you know your neighbors on a first name basis. Then one day you wake to see strangers dragging suitcases down the hall, not sure where they are going. Confused about which unit they are renting, they might even try to get into yours. When when you hit the hay at 10 or so, the party next door is just getting started, their alcohol-fueled voices getting louder and louder over their music. The next day at the pool you find that you can't get a lounge chair, all of them taken up by your new neighbors as they enjoy their music, smoke, and drink beer from glass bottles. The renters, who might have crammed 3 couples into a 2 bedroom home, have helped to fill the parking lot too.
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Published on May 10, 2022
Comments 9
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
May 3, 2022 -- You've worked hard to earn your retirement. So why not retire to a place where you are likely to be welcomed with open arms. To help with that we published a list of "10 Very Friendly Places to Retire" back in 2016, and it generated loads of comments and suggestions. Using this fantastic input from our Members (you can't beat the experience of real people!), here are even more great places to retire. We hope you will add to the list!
Cape Coral, FL. Here is what Linda had to say about this FL West Coast town: "I’d add Cape Coral, FL to your list. It’s not as isolated as Punta Gorda (about an hour up the coast). If we don’t have it in Cape Coral, there’s a good chance it’s available across the bridges to Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples, etc. There is a very active New Residents Club here which has been going on for 50 years. If I had the stamina, I could be doing something with these new-found friends every day!"
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Published on May 2, 2022
Comments 5
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
April 27, 2022 -- Of all the current demographic generations, Gen X is the one most worried about its retirement, according to a research study from the SOA Research Institute. They are the folks born between 1965 and 1980, and are the next demographic group to start retiring. Gen X came immediately after baby boomers (1946-1964), but before Gen Y/Millennials (1981-1996), and then Gen Z. Gen Xers are currently between the ages of 42 and 57.
The SOA study researched a number of questions about their retirement preparation and feelings about financial security.
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Published on April 25, 2022
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