Let’s Talk About Retirement

SK asked:


My husband is retiring from 24 years of service in the military. We are 90K upside down on home. We have a job offer in another state.

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Dr. Cynthia Barnett asked:


The holiday season can be exciting and fun, but it can also be exhausting or lonely for some. Retirees need to keep in mind some simple but helpful tips for making the season more enjoyable and less stressful.

1. Keep your focus on the reason for the season. The holiday season – no matter what your religious faith – is a time of celebration and spiritual refreshment. The beginning of a new year can be a time of new commitments, new beginnings and new opportunities. The season offers a reminder and a chance to reorder our priorities and make the most of each day. Adjusting our perspective in light of spiritual teachings can bring brightness and hope into our daily lives throughout the coming year.

2. Pace yourself. Many people arrive at the actual holiday too exhausted from preparations to actually enjoy the day. Many people find it helpful to limit the amount of time and energy spent on any part of the preparations for the holiday at a given time. Some people structure their days to shop for two hours, then rest for one hour, and then do another task. It is also important to pace yourself in terms of activities and events. Sometimes, what we need most is control over our time and activities. If you are becoming overwhelmed by the array of events and activities and you find that your schedule is filling rapidly, you might do well to make some choices. Limiting your activities to the most important events might help you pace yourself and prevent the exhaustion that can drain the fun from everything.

3. Don’t be alone unless you want to be. The holiday season can be very sad and depressing for those who find themselves alone. If you don’t have family or friends nearby with whom you plan to spend part of the holiday, you can still spend the day with others. Check in your community for gatherings of others who would otherwise be alone. Or – better yet – find a community opportunity to help others on the holiday. Most communities have programs that offer meals to the homeless and needy. You can be with others and feel wonderful about the way you spend the day by volunteering to help with preparation and serving of the meals.

4. Don’t lose sight of the budget. Overspending during the holidays is very easy. But it can create a lot of stress in January when the bills start to arrive. It is so much fun making purchases of gifts for children and grandchildren that the budget can easily be forgotten. Be honest and realistic about what you can afford to spend on gifts and entertaining. Then stick to the budget. Keep in mind that a modestly-priced gift that fits the recipient can mean more than the most expensive new thing available. Some families manage spending by setting clear limits on the cost of gifts for the adults in the family. This allows them to spend more on the younger children. Be creative in thinking about holiday spending and try to keep your focus on the right gift for each individual rather than the most expensive.

5. Don’t lose sight of your dietary needs. Many of us have special dietary needs as we grow older. Whether we are just eating smart or we are watching sugars, fats and cholesterol, many of us need to maintain a healthy diet – even during the holidays. In most cases, it is okay to splurge a bit at a holiday dinner or party if we adjust our diets during the rest of the day to keep our overall diet within bounds. Remember that making yourself sick by ignoring your dietary needs will not make the holiday more enjoyable for you or those around you.

I hope these very practical tips will help you get the greatest possible enjoyment and renewal from the holiday season. By keeping things in perspective and monitoring spending and diet, you will probably enjoy the holidays more. Pacing yourself and keeping a view to the meaning of the season in your belief system will help you avoid exhaustion and renew yourself as the New Year begins.



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Respect The Big Man Code!!! asked:


Also do u think that the Lakers will repeat or not next season. If no, who do u think they will lose to and who do u think will win it all next season.

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Dbub asked:


What kind of rollover or plan can I use so I can avoid paying taxes on my 30 year pension when I retire at age 55 ? I have been told I will have to pay penalties and taxes regardless if I am not 591/2 yrs old. Is this correct ? THanks

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iv1607 asked:


I know that the baby boomers are retiring soon so which sectors will be most affected. If I want to become an engineer, will the retirement of the boomers make it easier/harder for me to find a job with respect to the economic recession.

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AtheistGuy asked:


How will the world/US change? How much more money is going to be spent on scientific research and such? How about social changes? With the baby boomers retiring and everything.

Whats your opinion?

By the way i am mostly talking about the next two decades.

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lissarocks02 asked:


My mom’s friend is retiring from teaching and she asked me to make a dessert. People are already bringing the basics (cookies,brownies, cake etc.) I’m in culinary school right now, so making something difficult shouldn’t be a problem. I just can’t think of anything to make!

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Samuel Martin asked:


But with the first wave of baby boomers turning 60 next year, retirees’ abilities to manage their assets will become a much bigger issue.

As financial planning becomes more complex - and as workers become increasingly responsible for funding their own retirements - investors would be wise to seek advice about navigating the retirement waters.

American Century Investments has developed an award-winning, 21-page booklet, “Manage Your Investments During Retirement,” that helps guide investors through various issues as they approach and enter retirement, including:

* building a retirement portfolio;

* managing income sources, from retirement savings to Social Security benefits;

* forecasting expenses for health care and long-term care;

* determining annuity payments and withdrawal strategies for all accounts, including taxable and tax-deferred accounts;

* calculating a withdrawal rate.

American Century also is launching additional retirement planning and investing tools for investors in all stages of retirement.

These new services will help investors develop retirement plans, invest their retirement portfolios and manage their retirement incomes. Investors can work with an experienced investment consultant or work on their own online to take advantage of these new services.

These retirement services are part of American Century’s On Plan Investing approach - providing guidance tailored to investors’ needs to help them meet their most important financial goals - available at no additional cost.



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Dean Caporella asked:


The western world is going to experience a major impact from 2010 and onwards and it’s an impact that’s been predicted for sometime. Strange thing is, there doesn’t seem to be much going on to avoid it.

We’re talking about the mass exodus expected from the workforce by our baby boomer generation who number about 80 million just in the United States. They also make up about one third of the work population which is a little frightening when one considers the consequences.

The Aging Work Force

It’s not just an aging population, it’s also an aging work force and the question needs to be asked…”Can industry afford to lose such a highly skilled generation in mass proportions?

The short answer is no, yet retirement planning is one of the main issues when people get close to the golden age of hanging up the work boots. What would happen if one third of the work force phased out over several years? Is there the same skill set to replace them?

Industry To Suffer From Mass Exodus

Industries such as teaching and nursing are expected to suffer through loss of expertise. It’s the expertise factor which is going to hurt many industries.

There is good news on the horizon though. Good news if you plan to keep working after hitting retirement age. Planning for retirement should sensibly start at a very young age, preferably in a person’s twenties yet sadly, many haven’t started building a nest egg until they hit their forties.

The topic of phased retirement has started to become more and more widely discussed and while we may not see it come to fore until baby boomers decide to call it quits, phased retirement is already being tried in some industries.

What Is Phased Retirement?

In a nutshell, it’s simply an option for people who want to keep working but don’t want the long hours associated with it. In other words, it’s a reduced and more flexible work schedule.

It really is a win-win situation; the retiree gets to keep earning income while the employer retains a lot of the expertise they worked so hard to establish over a number of years.

Studies during 2007 have indicated people who suddenly retire without any significant purpose in their lives, find it tough going and having purpose is what makes this option very attractive. There are still some issues which need to be ironed out but when one talks of “buzz words,” it’s quite likely that phased retirement will dominate discussions very soon.



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DolceGabbana™ asked:


My uncle’s retiring this saturday and Im in charge of foods.I Just wanted to see what kinds of foods you serve.

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