Smart Money Moves to Make by Age 50 |
May 3, 2012 |
Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
Many individuals find out how unprepared they are for retirement when it is too late to get back on track by simply making slight adjustments. In order to decrease the odds that you will be one of those unfortunate many, I would recommend that you read the following article which gives some sound advice in ensuring that you have key items addressed by at least the age of 50. Lynnette Khalfani-Cox did a fantastic job in highlighting the following key actions that you need to...
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The Best 5 Credit Cards for Groceries |
April 30, 2012 |
Your Retirement
For many of us, the cost of groceries is one of top drivers of monthly expenditures that we are faced with managing. Fortunately an article by Elizabeth Sandberg named The Best 5 Credit Cards for Goceries was posted which highlights the best credit cards to utilize for grocery purchases. These cards all have fantastic cash back rewards options so virtually everything in your favorite grocery store will be at a discount at all times. Plus, many of these offer savings on other purchases such as...
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Where to Retire if You Love the Outdoors |
April 27, 2012 |
Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
If you passions include swimming, hiking, skiing, golfing, fishing, or simply soaking in the scenery, then you will find the following locations very appealing when considering a move upon retirement. In an article by Michael DeYoung with the above title, a list of 10 cities is provided that were chosen due to their abundant offerings of nature while also having a great mix of affordability, climate, amenities, and heath resources. Here are the cities that ranked highest: 1. Boulder, Colorado 2. Santa Cruz, California 3....
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Most Common and Costly Retirement Surprises |
April 26, 2012 |
Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
The thought of retirement often brings happy feelings to those still in their working years who simply focus on how nice it will be to not have to clock in 5 days a week. Unfortunately, the daily expenses do not magically vanish once you plan to retire so careful planning is required to ensure a long and financially stress free retirement. An article was recently posted by Rachel Sheedy, titled 5 Costly Retirement Surprises, which highlights the most common items that individuals have found to...
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Beat Bad Financial Habits to Boost Savings |
April 25, 2012 |
Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
As we all have surely faced at various times in our lives, bad habits are tough to beat. “Breaking bad habits successfully depends on your readiness to act,” says Heidi Beckman, clinical health psychologist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. She also states that habits are most likely to be broken once you go past the “preparation stages” and into the action or realization stage. Unfortunately, this is most often too late. If we apply this thinking to our retirement savings, it is...
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Stern Advice: Countdown to Retirement |
April 23, 2012 |
Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
Known as both “the red zone” and “the transitional phase”, the 5 years prior to retirement is an important time in an individual’s life. This phase can be tedious and cause anxiety, but an article posted by Linda Stern highlights some important things to consider early in your planning phase to ensure that the stress and strain is kept at a minimum. Here are the titles of the guidelines that she presents. Get Specific about life planning Become a Social Security savant Do a health-care...
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How to Create a Pension (With a Few Catches) |
April 16, 2012 |
Income For Life, Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
As employment benefit pension plans continue to decline at fast pace, many Americans are turning to “longevity insurance” to restore some financial security to what are supposed to be their golden years. An article recently posted by Anne Tergesen gives some valuable insight into these private pension plans. Unlike an immediate annuity which starts issuing payments almost instantaneously, a longevity policy involves an upfront payment with a start date selected by the policyholder at some point in the future. For an example of the differences,...
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Do You Need Life Insurance in Retirement? |
April 12, 2012 |
Life Insurance, Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
Along with any other retirement planning tool, specific analysis needs to be applied to Life Insurance to ensure that your specific needs are being efficiently addressed. An article recently published by Jeff Rose sheds some light into key items that you should consider when evaluating if Life Insurance should be part of your overall plan. One key item that he highlights is to be sure that your dependents’ potential needs are included in this analysis. If your children are financially stable, then you of course...
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What to Do With an Inheritance? |
April 11, 2012 |
Annuity Basics, Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
Baby Boomers are expected to inherit roughly $8 trillion from their parents and formulating a plan for receiving that money prior to receipt can pay off in the long run. Sharon Epperson posted an article which describes some key factors to keep in mind when deciding what to do. In it, she notes that the first step in making the most of an inheritance is to outline your financial goals. Many boomers will be able to fund their own retirement and may be able to...
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Are 401(k) Plans For The Benefit Of Workers Or Wall Street? |
April 10, 2012 |
401k and IRA Blogs, Your Retirement
An article came out in SmartMoney last week which highlighted the massive amount of fees that gets generated from 401(k) plans with minimal visibility to the plan participants. The article was titled, “The Big Business of 401k Plans” by Ian Salisbury and poked holes in the current 401(k) system by opening consumers eyes to the billions of dollars in annual fees that these investment banks are making off of them. Don’t get me wrong, the banks should make money and turn a profit. That is...
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