Search Results for: money saving retirement planning

Health Care Costs are Expensive After Retirement

Posted on by

It is never too early to plan for your retirement. Most people are aware that health care costs are high, but, not everyone understands that a person’s health care expenses tend to increase after retirement. Health insurance can help with some of those costs. There are other things that can help as well. According to calculations done by Fidelity Investments, a 65-year-old couple who retires in 2012 is estimated to need around $240,000 to cover their medical expenses throughout their retirement. That is a lot of money! This total amount has increased by 4% since last year, and it has … Continue reading →

Money in Your Golden Years

I once sat through a workshop sponsored by a company I used to work for where the guy in charge kept warning: “There are no do-overs when it comes to retirement planning.” He also added (in a very ominous tone) that if we messed up now we’d all be doomed to a life of penny-pinching in our golden years. Ah, memories of corporate America. Truth be told, the workshop leader’s scare tactics were quite effective. His advice was sound and bears considering regardless of whether you are self-employed or part of a multi-million dollar corporation. Retirement planning is important, as … Continue reading →

Elderly Women and Retirement

Whenever I think about elderly women, of course my grandmother comes to mind. She and I were very close. I remember going up to stay with her from time to time, often for five days or a week, and enjoyed her simple, laid-back lifestyle. She canned, she gardened, she did crossword puzzles, she wrote in her journal—and she always had a cookie jar full of various home-baked treats for her grandchildren. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-teens that I realized something: Grandma didn’t have a lot of money. It wasn’t something that had ever been an issue, so … Continue reading →

Interview: John Hauserman on Retirement Planning

This morning I had the chance to chat with my friend John Hauserman of RetirementQuest.com. I’m a little ways down the road from retirement, but that’s the perfect time to start thinking about it—when it’s not an urgent, pressing need. By then it’s too late. I asked John a couple of questions that have been on my mind. John, I’m not a risk-taker, and I love it when people can give me a heads-up so I don’t make a huge mistake. What do you consider the single biggest mistake people make when it comes to planning for retirement? The single … Continue reading →

Benefits For The Self-Employed Part 3: Two More Retirement Planning Options

For the last installment of this series on benefits for the self-employed, I am going to explore two additional options for retirement planning, the SEP IRA and the individual 401k. It is good that there are a few options available to home-based business owners when it comes to retirement planning. Of course, the fact that there are differences between the various options that are available means that you will have to invest some time in learning about your options and choosing the one that will work best for you. The SEP IRA and the individual 401k both offer flexible annual … Continue reading →

Benefits For The Self-Employed Part 2: Retirement

We have already discussed some of the options available to home-based professionals for one of the benefits that they often give up when they leave a traditional job. While health insurance is probably the most common benefit received by people in the world of traditional work, retirement plans are a close second. Not every job offers a retirement plan, but many do, and people that are thinking of making the leap to self-employment often wonder how they will plan for their retirement on their own. Fortunately, there are a few retirement planning options that self-employed people can choose from. It … Continue reading →

Planning for a Frugal Retirement

I used to think about retirement as a time when you get to live luxuriously and spend all of the money that you spend so many years saving. As my dad got closer to retirement I got scared because I knew that he had not saved alot of money. I knew that he had spent all of his money on us, his kids. I wanted him to come live with my so that I could give him a comfortable retirement. He wanted not part of this. Instead he chose to live frugally and he is very comfortable and happy in … Continue reading →

Retirement Accounts – Mixing Assets

The concept of saving for retirement is often confusing. My first recommendation to you is to call a financial representative from the company that holds your accounts. They often have loads of free advice to give. It can also be worth your time to pay a separate financial planner or advisor, particularly if your assets are huge or your situation is complicated. To help you in these discussions, it is good to understand a few basics when it comes to your retirement arrangements. The following facts should give you a starting place. • Determine your target retirement goals based on … Continue reading →

Retirement Dilemmas

Retirement is one of those things that seem so far off. Therefore, planning for it often takes a backseat to many other problems and concerns. The sneaky part about planning for your retirement is the sooner you start the better off you will be. That means you do have to make some time to confront retirement plans… long before you need them. The trick is to make it simple and low maintenance. Spend a week determining how you will plan for your retirement – then do it. If you set it up the right way, you shouldn’t have to think … Continue reading →

Take Advantage of Automatic Savings Plans

Most of us are weaklings when it comes to money. There are so many fun things to buy and interesting ways to spend. How can we keep on track? The simplest way to ensure you actually save for the future is to use automatic savings plans. There are many ways to pay yourself first. Systematic investing through automatic accounts help you stay on track with your long term goals. One method of automatic saving is through your own bank. You can arrange to have an specific dollar amount withdrawn from your checking account each month, much like paying a bill. … Continue reading →