Retirement

“I’m not ready to retire, or I can’t afford to retire, so I’ll work part-time.” How many times have I heard this said?  Too many.  For some reason, millions of people around the age of 65 believe semi-retirement is the answer to all their dilemmas. They feel now is the time to slow down and take things at their pace. But to have one foot in retirement and the other in work, is living in the worst of both worlds. Take it from someone who knows. At 52, I was given just six months to live. Semi-retirement was forced on me and it was not pretty. I had money, friends, family, a social life, good health, but it was not … Read more

There’s no such thing as a perfect retirement plan, but there are certain common mistakes you should avoid at all costs. You will make retirement mistakes. Although saving for retirement is obviously important, you’d be surprised by how many people are barely saving or not saving at all. Don’t risk having to work indefinitely by procrastinating on your retirement planning.  Retirement Mistakes Everyone Makes Waiting for the ‘Perfect Moment’ to Start Saving The last thing you want to do is reach retirement age with no savings. The problem with retirement is that we tend to think of it as a distant goal that we can always start saving for “later.” However, this mentality oftentimes leads people to push off retirement … Read more

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently experienced the largest single-day drop in history, but it bounced back relatively quickly. Ever since then, the markets have been swinging up and down so much that some economists have wondered whether a recession is on the horizon. But are you protecting your retirement? For the average American who’s saving for retirement, this economic news probably sounds terrifying. Saving for retirement is hard enough, now we have to deal with crazy market fluctuations, too? Fortunately, there are several ways you can protect your retirement nest egg in the midst of a volatile economy. Protecting Your Retirement Nest Egg Consistently Contribute  One of the biggest retirement planning mistakes people make is contributing inconsistently to their … Read more

There’s plenty of doom and gloom news surrounding the Millennial Generation’s financial management. But, new reports suggest Baby Boomers aren’t doing too well either. The baby boomers retirement is an important topic to understand. Baby Boomers, which are those born roughly between 1946 and 1962, seem to be missing the mark when it comes to saving enough money for retirement. As MarketWatch pointed out, the average Baby Boomer has just $263,000 saved in their employer-sponsored retirement plan, despite needing about $658,000 to live comfortably on. If the math holds up, this means the average Baby Boomer has saved less than half of what they really need to live on during retirement. This is especially concerning now that 10,000 or so Baby … Read more

How prepared are you for retirement? If you assume that your monthly expenses will decrease in your post-working life, then you might be surprised to learn that many retirees experience the exact opposite. Instead, their expenses go up. How can that be? If you pay off your mortgage before retiring then perhaps your monthly budget will be noticeably lower. But, it’s not reasonable to expect your current lifestyle will drastically change in a more frugal direction upon retirement. There are many ways we psychologically approach retirement, but “live as frugally as possible” is likely not part of the plan. Instead, retirees view it as a time to live in well-deserved luxury and relaxation, whether that involves going out to dinner … Read more

There are plenty of ways to make retirement planning less stressful. But, people are oftentimes too caught up in saving for vacations or paying off debts to dedicate much effort to prepare for retirement. We all make mistakes. But, do you make retirement mistakes? Considering the significant income drop you’ll experience after retiring from your current line of work, planning for retirement is one of the most important things you’ll ever do in your life! The last thing you want to do is reach your 60s with little saved for retirement. To clear up any confusion about retirement planning and help you stay on track to meet your goals, here are some common mistakes you should avoid. 4 Common Retirement … Read more