Free Retirement Planning Tips

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While you can calculate your retirement on your own, the best way to obtain an accurate forecast is to seek the services of a financial planner.

A financial planner can be objective about your finances.  He or she can advise you as to the approximate amount of your pension based on the contributions you have made over the years.

Moreover, they will probably advise you to begin contributing the maximum amount of pension contributions the closer you get to retirement age.  This is significant because it can boost your pension earnings more than you know.

In order to receive the best advice, you have to do a little calculating of your own.  The planner may ask when you plan to retire, whether you plan to move to another state, travel, pursue higher education, and what type of lifestyle you hope to maintain.

You also have to take into account your healthcare expenses.  For example, a city worker may have a healthcare plan such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield and GHI (Group Health Incorporated).  This type of insurance is worth approximately $12,000 a year and is a necessary component that can alleviate expenses resulting from ill health.

If you would like to calculate how much you will need for retirement, there are many online calculators you can use.  One is located at: How much you need to retire calculator

You simply enter your current annual income, 70% post-retirement income, expected annual pension, expected annual Social Security payment, current age, age at which you will retire, and life expectancy.  Note these are approximate figures.  The figure of 70% is the amount of your income that one would need to retire comfortably.

Once the calculations are made, you can then proceed to increase your pension contribution, if applicable, and/or begin a savings program outlined by your financial planner that will yield a high rate of interest and allow you to retire knowing there will always be money available to you.

If you are years away from retirement, calculating your pension income now will give you a clear and concise measure of what to expect.  Here is an example of an individual who did not plan well for retirement.  A man retired at age 57.  He contributed less than 10% to his pension and the result is that he now receives under $1000 a month.  Although he did consult a financial planner, the pressure of the job was such that he had to retire early for health reasons.  He is currently working full-time in another position.

Thanks,

Adam

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With the sub-prime mortgage affecting homeowners and home sales, it may or may not be a good time to buy a home.  However, when the housing market begins to level off, you may wish to consider the following cities that are cited as the best places to buy a home to retire:

* Wichita, Kansas.  With a median home price of $157,000, this city has been listed as one of the most affordable cities to buy a home.

* Omaha, Nebraska.  With home sales averaging $226,000, this city has a low unemployment rate.

* Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  This city offers homes for $226,000 as well, and is located east of Philadelphia.  Rich in history and cultural diversity, this may be an excellent choice.  Moreover, it’s about four hours from New York City.

* Madison, Wisconsin.  With a price range of $266,000, Madison has a beautiful landscape and is a friendly city.  With its many museums, among them the Frank Lloyd Wright Museum, this is one place you can truly call home.

* San Antonio, Texas.  This city has home sales averaging $172,000.  It is filled with historic sites such as the Alamo, and the people here are warm and friendly as well.

* Indianapolis, Indiana.  Median home prices average $166,000.  Home to the well-known pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, Indianapolis is also home to the Indy 500, the National Football League’s Colts, and has a diverse culture as well.

* Pittsburgh, Pa.  The home prices here average $149,000.  It is most affordable for retirees.  Home to the Pittsburgh Steelers, it is known for its friendly people and holds its values and traditions close to the heart.  This is a great city for families.

* Dallas, Texas.  At a median price of $205,000, Dallas has the most jobs and housing of all the cities listed.

* Tulsa, Oklahoma.  For $158,000, you can buy a fantastic home in Tulsa.  It has a booming economy due to the energy industry, and is a beautiful place to live with its parks, historic sites, and gardens.  Touted as a great place to raise a family, Tulsa is very affordable in today’s housing market.

If you are considering buying a home that is in foreclosure, take some time and research this method.  Buying a home in foreclosure can create more problems than necessary.  As stated earlier, it may be a good idea to give the housing market time to settle down.  In the meanwhile, you can research the aforementioned cities in depth to determine if they are right for you and your family.

Thanks for reading!

-Adam

For more info:

Best Places Retire

Best Places to Retire

Best Country to Retire

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What makes Mexico one of the best countries to live and retire?

First, let’s learn more about Mexico:

Its extensive coastlines include the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Mexico has nice and warm people, unique food, art and archeology, pyramids, museums, Haciendas, 6,000 miles of shoreline, superb architecture and 21 century cities, weather from snow mountains in the Sierras, to rainy jungles in the Southeast and desert in the Northwest, lots of golf courses throughout the country, excellent fishing, world top destinations like Acapulco, Cancun, Cozumel, Los Cabos, and Patzcuaro. Mexico is ranked 7th major destination for foreigner visitors, according to WTO.

Sounds good so far.

What about the sights of Mexico?

Here’s a short video showing some of the scenery around Mexico:

What about working in Mexico?

Working may require a work visa, which is difficult to get if you just want to freelance for a short time.

Many important headquarters are located throughout the main cities of Mexico. Mexican top corporations like Televisa, Bimbo, Cemex, Telmex, Vitro, are often willing to hire professionals who speak English as their native language as most of the business scene is developed with North American corporations.

An excellent way to get to know and understand more of the country is to do some voluntary work. There are several organizations such as Travel to Teach that arrange work for international volunteers in Mexico and other countries in the region.

Native English speakers can pick up work, as English teachers. The upside is that English speakers with no knowledge of Spanish are sought after, because they will force their students to practice English. The downside is that salaries are somewhat low.

What about money in Mexico?

The currency of Mexico is the peso (MXN). The symbol for pesos is the same as for US dollars, which can be slightly confusing. Prices in dollars (in tourist areas) are labeled “US$” or sport an S with a double stroke. As of May 2008 the exchange rate hovers around $10.20 MXN to $1.00 USD.

US dollars are widely accepted in the far north and in tourist locales elsewhere. Euros are generally not accepted by merchants, and even banks headquartered in Europe may refuse to accept euros for exchange.

Best place to convert USD to pesos is the supermarket. At Pemex gas stations, attendants seem to be private enterprise minded. They will give you 500 pesos of gas and charge you $50 (which is 10.00 mexican to 1.00 dollar). And will readily convert 500 pesos to dollars by multiplying by .105 rather than dividing by 10.5 and thus supplement their hourly wage. Attendants carry a wad of cash and make their own change. While many Pemex stations accept credit cards, especially in locations that have heavy tourist traffic, some do not; travelers who intend to pay by credit card should ask the attendant if the card is accepted before pumping begins.

What about the water in Mexico?

Mexico is so notorious for traveler’s diarrhea that it is often called “Montezuma’s Revenge” (Venganza de Moctezuma). The reason for this is not so much the spicy food but the contamination of the water supply in some of the poorer zones in Mexico. In most of the small towns that are less industrialized, only the poorest Mexicans will drink tap water. The best policy is to only drink bottled or purified water, both of which are readily available. Just like in the USA, in most major Mexican cities the water is purified at the cities’ water company. In most restaurants in these poor zones, the only water served comes from large jugs of purified water. If you get sick visit your local clinic as soon as possible. There is medicine available that will counter the bacteria.

There is so much more to learn about living and retiring in Mexico.  You can read some first hand accounts here

These are just some of the reasons why Mexico is one of the best countries to live and retire to.

Thanks for reading.

Have a great day!

-Adam

Source.

Hello-

Money Magazine just came out with their annual best places to live in America issue this month.

Here’s the top 10:

I was looking at how they picked the winners.  You can read their selection process here.

Last year they looked at small towns.  This year, the towns had populations between 50,000 and 300,000.

So if you’re looking to live and retire in a bigger town then this year’s picks will serve you well.

Being from Texas, I was proud to see that 13 of the top 100 places to live were in Texas.  Yeehaw!

That just goes to show that Texas is a great place to live, even if we have to deal with the Dallas Cowboys struggles.  :o)

Check out Money Magazine’s best places to live section and use their free tool to help you find your best place.  Click here

They also offer tips on what to look for when selecting a place for you to live and retire.

Namely, you want to look at home prices, good schools, job growth, weather, crime, activities and leisure options, cost of living, transportation and medical care.

In the end though, it all comes down to what you like and what makes you happy.  You can just use guides like this to add or take away from your list of places to move and then go from there.

Good luck in your search for finding your best place.

Have a great day!

-Adam