Baby Boomers: It's Never too Late for Change

By Anna D. Banks

The economy has most of us scared. We want to retire, but feel that we can't. Housing prices are down. Tuition for your college aged children is rising faster than the surf at "Big Sur", and even the "well-healed" baby boomer is feeling the economic pinch. Overall things may not feel full of promise, but take a look at the short video and be inspired.




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Live Fearlessly,

Anna

Do What Many Others Failed To Do – Planning For Retirement

By Anna D. Banks, GCDF

Many people put off planning for their retirement thinking that since it is years away in the future they can wait for some more time before giving thought to it. However, by delaying it you could end up losing substantial amounts of money. This, in turn, could be the decisive factor of whether your retirement will be a comfortable one or whether you barely get by.

Planning for retirement, therefore, ought to be begun as soon as possible. By beginning early, not only will it give you more time to create a portfolio of investment that will generate a comfortable income during your retirement, but also take care of other important matters like health.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning for your retirement:

Set Goals
One of the first things to do is making a list of some of the goals you have for your retirement. Are you planning on traveling? Do you want to move to another place because of the climate, or to be closer to family? Or perhaps you just want to stay in the same place and pursue your interests and hobbies. Irrespective of what your goals may be, you will require money for it from an income. It is projected that baby boomers will have retired lives that will last for 30 years, and perhaps even more. Hence, you will have to make a plan that generates income for that many years. It could include taking up another career after retiring, to augment your retirement income. You can use retirement calculators to find out the amount of money you will require for your retirement.

Make a Budget
In case you have not already done so, make a budget. If you have no idea about your monthly expenditure, start jotting down every dollar you spend for two to three months in a journal. You will be able to manage your expenses better once you find out exactly what you are spending on. Payments you make toward your retirement plan should be included in your budget.

Include other Members of the Family
Talk about your plans for retirement with your spouse and other members of your family. It is likely that both you and your spouse will retire around the same time, hence both of you should be in accord about the kind of retirement you want. If both of you are working, both will be making contributions to the funds you are putting aside for your retirement. Hence by deciding together, you will create a plan that both of you will find acceptable.

Don’t Bust your Plan
Regardless of how well you plan for the financial aspect of your retirement, it will come to naught, if you use it frivolously to buy yourself luxuries that you can do without. If you are going over your budget, it is probably because you are mistaking luxuries to be necessities. Does every member of the family really require a cell phone and a pager? Do you really require another phone line, or caller ID? Small things add up, making you go over budget. While you do not have to deprive yourself, it is always better to spend your money wisely.

Aim for Health and Fitness
Age related ailments affect your healthcare costs along with your insurance premiums for your retirement. Your premiums will be substantially higher, or you could even be denied coverage, if you have any pre-existing health condition. That will hit you hard when you will require funds for healthcare the most. Hence, plan for being healthy and fit into a ripe old age by eating well and exercising regularly.

© 2008 Anna D. Banks, GCDF

ANNA D. BANKS, GCDF, is a passionate advocate for baby boomers in exploring their priorities, planning and setting goals for the next stage of their lives. Assisting her clients to attract and build a professional and personal life consistent with their values is not just a goal of Anna’s, it’s her passion. Her diverse work experience in business, education and financial services enables her to help the diverse population of baby-boomers with their life, career, and personal finance coaching needs. Anna is currently Adjunct Faculty at Essex County College, where she teaches Career Development & Management. Please place a post on www.AnnaBanks.com or email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.
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Author's Note:

Do you have any questions about career development or lifestyle changes for Baby Boomers, which you think others, like you, would want to know the answers? Please place a post on www.AnnaBanks.com or email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.

Developing Strategies to Deal with Uncle Sam Post Retirement

By Anna D. Banks, GCDF

Retirement is entirely a different and new chapter of life; some accept it with a smile where as some handle it with lot of stress. A well-planned retirement could get back your smile, and also enable you to enjoy all that which you missed while slogging for your family. Retirement planning can be sometimes quite complicated and one should be very careful and patient while planning for it. Even if your retirement plans are clear set with all your visions and goals in place, it is your financial requirement that will determine the success of the plan. A large percentage of Americans recognize the retirement systems and its undergoing changes but they are not planning well enough to retire comfortably.

• A Retirement Confidence Survey finds that the government regularly changes pension plans and the workers have been experiencing a severe decline in the retirement benefits, but they are not working towards it constructively. Nearly 2 in every 5 workers have not done anything to tackle this issue.

• Some workers depend on the employer provided retirement benefits and they expect that their spouse will receive income from such retirement plans.

• Half of the workers save for retirement, excluding the value of the primary residence. Majority of workers put aside some money for retirement.

• Health care for future retirees will be a huge burden especially with post-retirement financial problems. Workers should understand the use of Medicare and accumulate enough money to even cover the insurance and health costs they would likely face after retirement.

Americans are confident about the way they would spend their post retirement years. A few simple and easy planning strategies could bring order in Uncle Sam’s post retirement years. So get started with some regular saving plan. Developing a savings plan is not very difficult.

Simple strategies can put Uncle Sam on a comfortable and financially secured track.

• Goals- Start saving for either your children’s education, a comfortable retirement life or for financial emergencies. Figure out what life would be after 10, 20 or 30 years and then think of the costs and the number of years needed to save enough for it.

• Investing- Figure out the right time to start investing and please don’t get distracted. The best way would be to put aside some amount on monthly saving basis, save right from reducing your monthly expense bill to your telephone bill. If you can then invest to reach your goals. Don’t ever abandon your pre-retirement planning.

• Savings to match goals- This would depend on your needs and how much time you have to reach your goals, your ability to tolerate risk etc. Start by learning the key characteristics of each goal and then narrow your selection to savings as well as investment products. Selecting the right product can help you accomplish your goal.

However, if you decide what you want in life and how you wish to achieve it, it will sort out half your problem. This will help you in your planning and in choosing products to aid you.

© 2008 Anna D. Banks, GCDF
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Author's Note:
Do you have any questions about career development or lifestyle changes for Baby Boomers, which you think others, like you, would want to know the answers? Post a comment or email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.