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How to retire a multi millionaire

This article highlights the importance of saving money for retirement and the sooner you start the better.

It makes some very good points and shows how you can retire comforably a multi millionaire if you start saving $5,000 a year for just ten years from age 25 - 35.

Check it out.

-Adam

The 40-Year-Old Savings Virgin (The Motley Fool)

You’re not the only one bragging about things you haven’t, you know, technically done.

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How to make your retirement savings last

Retirement planning doesn’t end the day your co-workers wish you goodbye.

In fact, how you manage your money during retirement is incredibly important to your financial security.

Many investors who feel they saved enough for retirement end up facing financial hardship during their golden years because they don’t know how to spend the money correctly.

Edmond Walters, founder and CEO of eMoney Advisor, says that retirees must stay vigilant to protect their assets during retirement.

In fact, when preparing for retirement, Walters says people shouldn’t assume their cost of living will go up by the inflation rate alone.

While the rule of thumb is to save 10% of your gross income each year for retirement, Walters says that retirees should not take out more than 5% during any one year.

Have your financial planner create an optimization analysis for you, adds Walters.

This will help you figure out where you should take your retirement money from first so that you can minimize your taxes and make your savings last.

And don’t just rely on your financial planner or adviser for help.

“Most people have multiple advisers and they don’t even know it,” says Walters.

“Instead of having five individual meetings a year with your attorney, your accountant, your insurance adviser and financial planners, have just two or three meetings where they all attend.”

If an adviser balks at meeting with the others who work for you, that should be a red flag.



Spend retirement funds wisely to make them last (Market Watch)

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Retirement planning doesn’t end the day your co-workers wish you goodbye. In fact, how you manage your money during retirement is incredibly important to your financial security. Many investors who feel they saved enough for retirement end up facing financial hardship during their golden years because they don’t know how to spend the money correctly. …

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How to retire well

You’ve heard scary retirement stories before — tales of woe and angst from would-be retirees who fell short of the goal line.
You’ve heard all about how not to plan for your golden years: how to spend more than you save, how to ineffectively draw up your retirement goals.
But how can you retire well instead?

Four simple steps will help get you there.

Step 1: Invest along the way.

Planning financially for retirement is a simple yet daunting task, and the plethora of investment vehicles and potential holdings only make it more so.
But you don’t have to be scared by all of these options.

In fact, if you don’t have time to follow individual companies on a regular basis, you’re better off taking the easy way out and sidling up to some funds instead.

We at the Fool are big proponents of index funds and funds with low expense ratios.

They just make sense: The less money you pay to fund managers, the more money you can keep in your investments — and the greater rewards you can reap as a result.

Furthermore, the funds you hold can effectively reflect your personal investing style as well as your stage in life.

If you’ve got plenty of time until retirement, you might consider a more volatile — yet potentially quite lucrative — index fund such as the E*Trade Russell 2000 Index (ETRUX), which holds small-cap companies such as JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU), FormFactor (Nasdaq: FORM), and Phillips van Heusen (NYSE: PVH), yet charges only 0.22% in expenses.

If you’d like to play it a little closer to the vest, a fund like the Vanguard Large-Cap Index (VLACX) may be more your style.

With an expense ratio of 0.20% and known entities such as ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), General Electric (NYSE: GE), Citigroup (NYSE: C), and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), you’ll typically endure less volatility while keeping a grasp on winning companies.

Step 2: Maintain a list of your retirement goals.

But your investments won’t do you any good if you have no plan for how you’re going to use them.

What do you want to do in retirement?

Do you want to move to Maui?

Spend your days volunteering at an animal shelter?

Buy an Airstream and travel the world?

Once you have a list of your goals and dreams — no matter how big, small, or silly they may seem — you can plan your finances accordingly.

Are you willing to forgo other luxuries when you plunk thousands of dollars down on that RV?

Exactly how much would your mortgage be in Maui?

Questions like these will help guide your financial plans today.
And if your dreams and goals change through the years, no matter.Keep your list of retirement aims current, and you’ll always have your eye on the prize.

Step 3: Keep some cash in short-term accounts.

While you’re investing and dreaming, be sure to plunk some money where you can get to it easily. Even though you’ve got your mind on retirement, life continues to happen, and with it come surprises that you’ve got to be ready for.
By socking some cash away in short-term vehicles such as money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and plain ol’ run-of-the-mill savings accounts, you’ll be ready for the unexpected even if the market is taking one of its customary naps.

Step 4: Sit back and enjoy the ride.
Once you lay the groundwork for your retirement goals and plans, keep an eye on them — even index funds and other, more hands-off holdings need attention from time to time. If you find you’re going in an unfavorable direction, either with
your investment decisions or your long-term goals, take care to change
them. It’s your future, after all; no sense in sitting idly by and watching your plans go down the wrong road.

Granted, retirement planning takes time and effort. But the rewards will be worth the investment.

4 Ways to Retire Well (The Motley Fool)

Forget the scary stories — retirement planning can be easier than you think.

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Where to retire

Here’s a good article to read about where to retire.  Here’s a summary:

Many of you tell us that from reading our columns, you sense we love Vero Beach, Fla., where we moved in 2001.

So, you ask, would we recommend the area to other people looking for a place to retire?

We do love Vero Beach for its natural beauty, friendly people and small-town charm, as well as for its cultural and educational amenities and high-quality health-care facilities.

But we can’t recommend any particular place to retire because that’s a decision only you can make based on your preferences and needs.

Your first decision, in fact, is whether to move at all.

In the introduction to the fifth edition of his popular “Retirement Places Rated” book, author David Savageau points out that the community where you already live can give you a deep sense of belonging you may not find somewhere else.

And a new study by the senior-advocacy group AARP refutes the myth that Americans move when they retire.

“Among the most reassuring findings is that for the most part, people 60-plus like their communities,” the study found.

“Contrary to myth, nine out of 10 older persons remain in the area in which they reside when making the transition to their retirement years.”

The study, based on an analysis of U.S. census data and interviews by the research firm GfK NOP/ Roper Public Affairs with more than 1,200 people in 40 communities, explored the reasons why older people choose to stay in the area they live or look for a new place.

A warmer climate, a lower crime rate and lower property and state property taxes are common characteristics of places — many in the South and West — that attract older Americans.

Weather is the No. 1 reason older people cited for leaving their old communities.

But there is much more to it.

“Interpersonal factors” are a major consideration, too.

Among people 60 and over who moved to new areas, nearly one in five cited being closer to family and friends as their prime motivation.

In addition, among those who moved, “the opportunity to meet and make friends with people over 60″ was the attribute most closely correlated with being satisfied with their new communities.

This sense of “community satisfaction,” or being happy with the place where you live, is a complex phenomenon driven by many dissimilar factors.

We find this concept worth exploring because it can help us decide whether to stay or move when we retire.

In addition to the opportunity to meet people and make friends, factors such as low pollution, an affordable cost of living, high-quality government services, opportunities for adult education, having a variety of housing options for older residents, and a lack of urban sprawl were closely associated with community satisfaction for those who moved.

But among those who have stayed put, other factors such low taxes, low crime, employment opportunities and availability of houses of worship turned up as significant.

The only three common factors between the two groups were low pollution, high-quality government services and low urban sprawl.

As to dislikes, taxes, government officials/politics and weather were cited most often by those who stayed in their communities.

Ultimately, staying or moving — and, if moving, where to move — is a personal choice based on how important different factors are for us.

Myth refuted: Most retirees stay put (Pocono Record)

Many of you tell us that from reading our columns, you sense we love Vero Beach, Fla., where we moved in 2001. So, you ask, would we recommend the area to other people looking for a place to retire?

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