Home Maintenance and Retirement

My attitude about home maintenance and repairs has changed. There are several reasons for this changed attitude but mostly because I see our retirement needs and desires more clearly now. Read more

Downsizing Through Craigslist

This week was a “downsizing week.” I made our first attempt to sell-off unneeded items that were taking up space in the basement level and garage. I took photographs of the items to be sold, opened a Craigslist account (free), learned how to post items for sale with photos (easy), and off I went.

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If Working Longer is Retirement Plan A, What is Plan B?

Retirement surveys seem to be everywhere. Many organizations are very interested in asking baby boomers about their retirement goals and/or about how well they have prepared for retirement. Today, the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies released the results of its survey of 4,080 U.S. workers. Not surprisingly, the news is not good. Read more

Can there be a No Risk Retirement?

How often does a retiree or retiree-to-be think about or ask this question: Can I have an adequate retirement income without taking risk?  In almost every case, the answer will be “no.”  A reader of Money Magazine recently wrote in with such a question. Read more

Long Term Care National and Local Cost Trends

Every baby boomer needs to think about long term care needs and costs. The odds are quite high that one of you will need it. Can you afford it? Read more

Boomer Friends: Merging the Past and Present

I had a great weekend. I traveled to Washington D.C. with four other high school buddies. We stayed in Georgetown as guests of another high school friend and his lovely wife. The six of us did the usual reminiscing (which is always good for laughs) but there was more – a lot more – and it was good. Read more

Go To Retirement Now Available on Kindle

I’ve added this blog as a subscription offering from Amazon’s Kindle Store. Amazon sets the price and then sends me a percentage of the revenue. The initial subscription rate for Kindle users is $1.99/month. Most blogs in my categories are $0.99/month. I’m not sure why my blog is priced higher but I’m not complaining – yet.  I have no idea whether this will generate any subscriptions but other bloggers have reported some success. Of course, subscribers here by RSS feed and email will continue to read for free.

You can do me a big favor by visiting the Amazon subscription page for my blog and giving it a positive review and/or hitting the “Like” button. Maybe that will attract subscribers and put a little snack money in my pocket!

Thanks so much for being a reader.

Get a Lifetime Investment Income From Your Retirement Portfolio

I’ve written quite a bit about the infamous 4% withdrawal rate rule. I say “infamous” because I don’t like it. It may have worked in the past. Now this rule of thumb is more like a rule of “dumb.” We are more prone to black swan market crashes and burdened by less predictable market returns. This requires alternative strategies for procuring a lifetime of investment income from our retirement portfolio. It starts with liability-focused investing rather than pure wealth building. Read more