What Age Should You Start Planning For Retirement?

What Age Should You Start Planning For Retirement?

So, what age should you start planning for retirement? The simple answer is as soon as possible. It doesn't really matter whether you are just out of school, in your middle age or late in life, now is always the best time to start retirement planning. Yes, that is a somewhat cliched response but think about this, if you hear it so often then don't you think there has to be some truth to it? Retirement planning expert Julia Valentine says there are three building blocks you need to understand when it comes to planning for retirement. They are: - the psychology of planning for your retirement - financial literacy or financial mastery - the tools that we can utilize to reach our … [Read more...]

Where To Get Retirement Planning Advice?

Where To Get Retirement Planning Advice?

Many people ask us where to get retirement planning advice? Sensible question and it occurred to us that with so much information out there, especially online, there would be a type of overwhelm feeling among many people. So we generally send them to one of our favorite sites for information on retirement and that's dol.gov. That's right! Don't underestimate the power and simplicity of the retirement planning advice given here. There's that word simplicity again. For people just starting to search for information or folks confused about what initial steps to take we suggest you get some sort of grounding first and learn a little about planning for retirement. Fort example, some of the … [Read more...]

Main Retirement Planning Mistakes

Main Retirement Planning Mistakes

It's never too late to start planning for retirement and we'll be talking about this more in our next post but it consistently ranks up there with the main retirement planning mistakes people make. That is, conceding defeat and thinking because they are just a few years away from retirement day that it's too late to do anything about it. Well, the truth is, the best time to start planning for retirement is now. A report at thestar.com gets right to the point when talking about the common retirement planning mistakes people make; it doesn't mince words and for a fleeting second we thought about holding this back. But this is advice you need to see. The author lists 10 mistakes to avoid … [Read more...]

Best 7 Tips To Save For Retirement

Saving For Retirement

Okay, time for some standard advice again and as we've mentioned before, saving for retirement shouldn't be a complicated process. While going through our own archives recently, we stumbled across an article showing the best tips to save for retirement. They are straightforward and worth going through to just get back on the right page about where you should be heading with your retirement planning. One of the things that is clear to us right now is that there is a little confusion among many folks and the feedback we get shows that. People just don't know where to start or if they do, they are not taking any action on getting started. So what can they do? Easy...talk to a financial … [Read more...]

Should We Move In Retirement?

Should We Move In Retirement?

A reader recently asked..."should we move in retirement?" Our response centered around "do you want to move?" Okay, there is method behind the madness especially for people who hear a lot about moving to another area or state when they retire but before you go and make a hasty decision. think about it carefully. This is the advice from a leading Real Estate Broker at newsok.com who says several factors will determine whether an area is a good place to retire to. We recently featured the best places to retire here at TheSmartRetiree.com and got some excellent feedback but moving is a decision that needs to take time. So what are some of the things you have to factor into moving in … [Read more...]

How To Plan For Retirement In A Tough Economy?

How To Plan For Retirement In A Tough Economy?

Is there a secret in knowing how to plan for retirement in a tough economy? Well, no there isn't but the bottom line in successfully getting the nest egg you want when you "hang up the work clothes" seems to be honesty. Yes, that sounds a little strange but the truth is, unless you are honest to yourself about your current situation and realistic about what you have now and what you need to retire on, then you will fall well short of the mark. We always like the simple solutions to problems with planning for retirement. Too many times experts make it sound more difficult than it really is. You know, it isn't. That's why an article at finance.yahoo.com from Dave Bernard caught our … [Read more...]

What Worries People Most In Retirement?

What Worries People Most In Retirement?

What worries people most in retirement? A recent study showed that there is ever increasing concern from folks about how to survive retirement and most of it revolves around finances either directly or indirectly. That's no surprise given the current state of the economy. A recent study by the Society of Actuaries shows that despite the concerns just one third of the people before retirement had a plan despite the worries. That, according to the study is one of the things that hasn't changed since they began doing these studies. So, what were the major concerns? According to the study which was posted at marketwatch.com, they included: - inflation and how to combat it - how they … [Read more...]

How Much Will You Need In Your Retirement Years?

How Much Will You Need In Your Retirement Years?

How much will you need in your retirement years? The problem with trying to figure out how much money you will need when you retire is trying to peer into the future. Unless you have a crystal ball it's not easy. That's one of the reasons why we always suggest talking to a retirement planning expert rather than starting this plan on your own. If you have the experience and the know how then fine but most people don't. A report at hawaiinewsnow.com says there are three questions will will set you on the way to figuring out your retirement nest egg number. And again, it revolves in making a determination about the future. The three questions are: - Determine the type of lifestyle you … [Read more...]

How To Best Plan For Retirement?

The New Three Legged Stool

If you think you can continue planning for retirement the way your father or grandfather did then think again. Today, knowing how to best plan for retirement starts with consulting a financial advisor and understanding what it is that will make your money grow to the extent that you could "put your feet up" when you retire and enjoy it. People have always been told to put their money in some sort of savings plan and that's still good advice but to think that just by doing this that it's going to grow to the levels you want, is wishful thinking. An excellent scenario was presented during an interview on The Harvest Show more than a year ago which we recently dusted off because this is … [Read more...]