Today we're concluding the details of our recent retirement workshop. If you missed the first two parts, I suggest you read them so you're up to speed. See part 1 and part 2 to catch up. So far we've made it through day 1 and section 5. Today let's get rolling with day 2 and section 6... Getting to the Second Class We arrived early for the second class, found our seats, … [Read more...]
Our Trip to a Retirement Workshop, Part 2
Today we're continuing the overview of our recent trip to a retirement workshop. If you missed the first part of this series, I suggest you read it before this post so you're up to speed. Last time we covered sections 1 and 2, so let's get rolling today with section 3... Section 3 -- Retirement Distribution Planning This section started with a reiteration of points … [Read more...]
Our Trip to a Retirement Workshop, Part 1
As you know, we've been to three direct mail retirement seminars so far. Two have been pretty good (the first and third ones -- we even met with two planners from the third seminar) and one not so good (the second seminar.) What you don't know is that we actually planned to attend a fourth one. But the day before it was scheduled the seminar was cancelled as the speaker … [Read more...]
The Top Five Money Secrets of the Happiest Retirees, Part 1
So far we've covered what makes retirees happy and what makes them unhappy from the book You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think. Today we get into the heart of the book's promise in its subtitle: The 5 Money Secrets of the Happiest Retirees. I'll share the five secrets as well as dive into the first secret in this post. In future articles I'll dig into the other four … [Read more...]
Retirement Interview 20
Here’s our latest interview with a retiree as we seek to learn from those who have actually taken the retirement plunge. If you’d like to be considered for an interview, drop me a note and we can chat about specifics. Today's interview is with a long-time friend I met through blogging back when I was just starting out. Through the years we have developed a meaningful … [Read more...]
My Retirement Disagreements with Chris Hogan
I recently posted ten great things about the book Retire Inspired: It's Not an Age, It's a Financial Number. I could have listed many, many more and I have recommended the book as a supplement to my 12 books to make you a financial expert in a year. That said, I'm not 100% on the same page with the author, Chris Hogan. I generally like Chris -- both his teachings and his … [Read more...]
How to Retire Inspired, Part 2
Today we're finishing the list of ten things I liked about the book Retire Inspired. If you missed the first post, check out How to Retire Inspired, Part 1. We covered five items in the first part, so we have five to review today. Let's get to it... Sad Retirement Stats Throughout the book, author Chris Hogan drops stats about retirement that will leave you … [Read more...]
How to Retire Inspired, Part 1
I just finished reading Retire Inspired and I loved it! It's written by Chris Hogan, a Dave Ramsey Personality (yes, Dave Ramsey has "Personalities" who speak with the backing of his organization -- here's the list of them if you're interested.) Instead of doing a more traditional book review (which I generally hate), I thought I'd list ten things about the book that I … [Read more...]
How to Avoid an Unhappy Retirement
Now that I've shared How to Have a Happy Retirement from the great retirement book You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think, it's time to look at the other side of the equation -- what makes people unhappy in retirement. The book shares a whole host of facts from a comprehensive survey they completed, some of which were mentioned last time (as a contrast to what happy retirees … [Read more...]
2019 Financial Year in Review and 2020 Forecast
As I've done every year on this site, I want to review my past year's financial results as well as make a forecast for the year to come. FYI, I'm writing this at the beginning of January even though it won't post for a couple months. As such, the numbers I'll be sharing aren't final yet (I'll sort through the official ones when I do my taxes). These have not been … [Read more...]
