There are many advantages to being retired. One of the biggest perks, and certainly one that will keep more money in your pocket, is… Senior Discounts! You probably already know that some restaurants offer them, and you know that if you belong to AARP (the American Association of Retired Persons), that card can bring you…
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As you contemplate your options for where you’ll live after you retire, you may be considering moving to a smaller dwelling. Downsizing might make sense for both financial and logistical reasons, but it might not be an advantageous choice in every situation. There are many factors you should consider in order to decide whether downsizing…
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If you have traveled internationally, you have probably visited charming, exciting places and fantasized about what it would be like to retire there. There are many reasons why retiring to a different country seems tempting. Maybe you want to enjoy your leisure years in a locale with a warmer climate and breathtaking natural beauty. Perhaps…
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Will working be part of your retirement? Perhaps your answer is not just “no!” but a resounding, “HELL no!!!” It may seem like an oxymoron to see “working” in the same sentence as “retirement.” By definition, isn’t retirement what you do after you stop working? Not necessarily. Retirement comes in many shapes and sizes, and…
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Living a fabulous retirement – or enjoying your life at any age – does not necessarily require having a large amount of money to spend lavishly. It means designing a life for yourself (and your spouse, if you have one) that is happy and fulfilling. This doesn’t require a lot of money in many cases.…
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Years ago, knowing when to retire was easy. Back then, you probably would have taken it for granted that you would retire when you turned 65. Or, if you worked for the same employer your entire career (which was much more common in decades past) you would retire when you had worked enough years to…
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When I turned 62, I celebrated by filing the paperwork to start receiving my Social Security benefits. This goes against the advice offered by the vast majority of professional advisors. Almost universally, financial advisors recommend delaying your benefits for as long as you can. Yet I have analyzed the numbers and pondered the non-financial aspects…
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For many people, being retired doesn’t necessarily mean never working again. A growing number of retirees are choosing to start their own business. According to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a leading researcher on entrepreneurship, more businesses are started by people ages 55 to 64 than by those under 25. While it is often difficult for…
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For many retirees, having enough money to enjoy a satisfying retirement is a major concern. Fortunately, enjoying a happy and fulfilling retirement does not necessarily require spending a lot of money. It’s true that the best things in life are free; for others, there are discounts. Here are 26 steps you can take in your…
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How much money do you need to retire? This is probably one of the most significant questions facing workers approaching retirement age, and it’s not simple to answer. Some experts will tell you that you will need 80 percent, 85 percent or even 100 percent of your pre-retirement income to live comfortably during retirement. Other…
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People have a lot of misperceptions about retirement. I’ve heard a lot of them over the years, and I’ve become especially aware of them since I started reading and researching extensively in order to produce content for this web site. Where do these misperceptions come from? Generally, misperceptions thrive wherever there is a lack of…
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Do you dream of retiring early? If you can make just a few small changes in your day-to-day life, you can. Are you concerned that you won’t have enough money saved to retire at all, or that you won’t be able to enjoy the kind of retirement you would like? If you can make just…
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Back in January, 1980, when I started my first job out of college, I was pretty naïve. I had no idea how to advance my career, navigate office politics, or even dress well. I can laugh now at how clueless I was back then and marvel that somehow things worked out and I enjoyed a…
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This question is usually first and foremost on people’s minds when they contemplate when they can retire and what sort of lifestyle they will be able to enjoy in retirement. And it’s an important question – but one that’s not simple to answer. Most important, there are a lot of other questions you need to ask…
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The Truth About Medicare (Dis)Advantage Plans
I turned 65 in early 2022, and I’ve been enjoying the benefits of traditional Medicare ever since. It’s one of retirement’s greatest benefits. It has lowered my healthcare costs and made obtaining care easier. It’s the system I wish I had throughout my working career. In the year preceding my 65th birthday, I received a…
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