On a visit to the picturesque seaside town of Kennebunkport, Maine, in August, I found myself sitting on a public bench in town. Now I was the lone male member in our group of five on this trip, which saw the four women browsing about the many shops, while I sought comfort and solitude at a well-sha… Continue Reading

In what seems like a blink of an eye, 20 turns into 30, and then 40 lurks around the corner. It?s at that time that people begin to take things in life a little more seriously, including retirement. Although you still have two decades to put money away, the time to start taking action is now. Make r… Continue Reading

Did you know the majority of Americans grade themselves as having a ?C? based on their readiness for retirement, according to RothIRA.com? Worse, few have any concept of retirement healthcare costs. What grade would you give yourself? If you?re like the 54% of workers who said that they don?t … Continue Reading

In the last post, The Real Purpose of Having Money: Living Life on Your Own Terms we challenged the idea of financial independence being a specific number ? usually a very high one ? and focused instead on specific financial conditions that give you the kinds of options that enable you to live life … Continue Reading

Since I?m self-employed and home-based, I generally choose to work out at the gym around mid-morning. It just works best with my somewhat unorthodox work schedule. But something I?ve been noticing when I go on weekdays is the pronounced number of people over 60 ? and more than a few over 70 ? workin… Continue Reading

This past spring Hunt Scanlon Media reported the results of a recent CareerBuilder survey on retirement. It indicated a full 53% of workers 60 and older are postponing retirement. What?s more, 40% don?t think they?ll be able to retire until age 70 or older. What does that say about the current st… Continue Reading

If you?re a gig worker, do you ever worry about retiring? The gig economy is growing, and so are the number of gig workers. It now encompasses 34% of the U.S. workforce, and is projected to rise to 43% by 2020. This takes in freelancers, contract workers, temporary workers, and probably even the sel… Continue Reading

You?re doubtlessly familiar with the many retirement strategies that say something like this: If you invest X dollars per year for the next Y years, at Z percent, you?ll have N dollars by the time you?re ready to retire. That?s certainly true in theory (though most people won?t even get close). But … Continue Reading

Do you remember the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz? I could be wrong, but I think that?s something like the concept a lot of people have about retirement. It?ll be a whole new life, with brilliant new adventures, and none of the problems of your current life. But will it? More… Continue Reading

It seems ironic to even bring up this topic, given that most people are woefully unprepared for retirement. Yet we seem to have two classes of people where retirement is concerned. One is obsessed with retirement to the point of throwing all their extra money into it, many even actively working towa… Continue Reading