The Means AND the Ends

The Means AND The Ends is the recognition that "getting there" is at least as important as where you're going. These posts are a curated collection of articles I've written as well as interesting finds that can be serious, humorous, and sometimes skeptical about investing and saving for retirement while being mindful that we must enjoy the ride all along the way.

Dentists: Don’t ‘fail’ retirement. Wisdom for your next chapter

Financial Planning, Retirement

Dentists who’ve experienced the stressful retirement transition say that it pays to be prepared emotionally as well as financially, and to begin preparations years before hanging up that cheek retractor for good. If you want to succeed at retirement, take the following advice to heart:

Slowly transition out. Abruptly stopping work can be a huge shock. A better way involves gradually scaling back on work commitments. For example, one dentist I know is transitioning down to working two days per week and plans to continue doing so for several years.Keith Lawrence, author of Your Retirement Quest: 10

Read the entire article: Dentists: Don’t ‘fail’ retirement. Wisdom for your next chapter – DentistryIQ

Dentists: Don’t ‘fail’ retirement. Wisdom for your next chapter Read Post »

This Is the Perfect Retirement Age—and It’s Not 65

Lifestyle, Retirement

Counting the clock until your retirement? You might want to put away your pension plan. According to a Japanese doctor, you should never clock out of the workforce—or do so well after the age of 65, at least.

In an interview with Japan Times, Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, a physician and chairman emeritus of St. Luke’s International University, said not retiring was one of his secrets to living a long, healthy life.

Before you roll your eyes, consider this: When most people lived until age 68, the typical retirement age was around 65 years old. Now that people are living much longer, they should also hold off on retiring, Dr. Hinohara says. Staying busy well into your senior years gives you a sense of purpose and fulfillment, which could keep you healthy as you age. And doing so couldn’t be easier; just check out the perfect jobs for seniors.

Read the entire article: This Is the Perfect Retirement Age—and It’s Not 65 | Reader’s Digest

This Is the Perfect Retirement Age—and It’s Not 65 Read Post »

6 Travel Apps That Will Help You Save Money on Your Next Vacation

Lifestyle, Travel

The last thing anyone wants to do is spend more money than necessary when planning a vacation. But luckily, there are plenty of great apps to help you cut your travel costs.For every stage of a trip, from scheduling flights to booking a hotel, apps can help travelers see a wide variety of listings, according to Edward Pizzarello, travel blogger and editor of Pizza in Motion. TravelSkills blogger Chris McGinnis adds that some travel apps “are also helpful in alerting you to schedule changes, seat assignments . . . so it’s worth having them on your phone.”

Read the entire article: 6 Travel Apps That Will Help You Save Money on Your Next Vacation

6 Travel Apps That Will Help You Save Money on Your Next Vacation Read Post »

When should you make ‘course corrections’ to your retirement plan?

Financial Planning, Retirement

Course corrections — whether you’re flying to the moon or sailing across an ocean or just shopping for groceries — are a necessary part of life.

Consider, for instance, the historic Apollo 11 flight plan in which there are 13 references to the term “course correction.” Without those and other course corrections, it’s unlikely the astronauts would have reached their goals of walking on the moon and then returning safely to Earth.

Read the entire article: When should you make ‘course corrections’ to your retirement plan?

When should you make ‘course corrections’ to your retirement plan? Read Post »

Your retirement planning starts with Social Security

Retirement, Social Security

Right now is the perfect time to start planning for a secure, comfortable retirement. And you can count on Social Security to help you begin the process.

First, we encourage you to set up an online my Social Security account so you can verify your lifetime earnings record and make sure you get credit for all of your contributions to the Social Security system through the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) payroll taxes. If you haven’t set up your personal my Social Security account yet, you can do so at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.

Read the entire article: Your retirement planning starts with Social Security – Journal Advocate

Your retirement planning starts with Social Security Read Post »

How To Get The Most Out Of Retirement

Lifestyle, Retirement

The best thing about retirement, I have found, is that for the first time in my life I’m in charge of my time. From kindergarten through college, from that first to that last job, my time and tasks have been governed by others.

Now that I’m a couple of years into retirement, I decide what I’ll do and when I’ll do it.

 As liberating as this may sound, you still should be strategic in planning how you are going to spend the next couple of decades.

Read the entire article: How To Get The Most Out Of Retirement

How To Get The Most Out Of Retirement Read Post »

A healthy mind is important for well-being in later life finds new study

Health & Fitness, Lifestyle

New European research suggests that psychosocial factors such as anxiety and depression may have an even larger impact on well-being in later life than physical health. The participants’ levels of subjective well-being were measured by a questionnaire from the World Health Organization with the

Read the entire article: A healthy mind is important for well-being in later life finds new study

A healthy mind is important for well-being in later life finds new study Read Post »

6 Things To Do 6 Years Before Retiring

Financial Planning, Retirement

Congratulations! At your 60th birthday, you’ve actually entered your seventh decade of living. We hope that you have given some thought to your retirement by now and made significant plans toward meeting your retirement goals. If so, age 60 is a good milestone to trigger a review of your retirement plans. (If not, start planning immediately, because you are rapidly running out of time.)

Now is the perfect time to think about your post-career life and take some meaningful actions. Here are six steps at 60 that can guide you toward a happy retirement.

1. Review/Create Your Retirement Plans – What does retirement mean to you? Whether it’s relaxation, travel, a second career, or some other pursuit, outline what you plan to do in retirement now that the end of your career is in sight. You need to firm up your plans in order to perform the next steps

Read the entire article: 6 Things To Do 6 Years Before Retiring

6 Things To Do 6 Years Before Retiring Read Post »

Reports of a US retirement crisis are off the mark: Think tank study

Lifestyle, Retirement

These days, hardly anybody believes the American retirement dream is doing all right. In fact, 88 percent of Americans agree that the nation faces a retirement crisis, according to a 2017 survey by the Washington, D.C.-based National Institute on Retirement Security pension research group.

However, a small but vocal group of scholars is advancing an opposing viewpoint. They say Americans’ chances for financial security in retirement are in better shape than is commonly supposed.

Read the entire article: Reports of a US retirement crisis are off the mark: Think tank study

Reports of a US retirement crisis are off the mark: Think tank study Read Post »

6 Retirement Planning Deadlines You Must Know

Financial Planning, Social Security

The most important retirement date is the actual date you get to stop working — but there are other retirement planning dates that are extremely important as well. Keep these deadlines in mind as you plan for your retirement:

Required minimum distributions: You must start taking minimum distributions from 401(k) and traditional IRA accounts when you are 70.5 years old, but you can wait until April 1 of the year after you turn 70.5 to take your first required minimum distribution from your retirement accounts. (Then all subsequent distributions are due by Dec. 31.) Delaying your first required distribution could mean taking two required withdrawals in the same year, potentially increasing your tax burden.

Keep in mind you do not have to take minimum distributions from your Roth IRA.

Stop contributing to a traditional IRA: Once you begin to take required minimum distributions from a traditional IRA at age 70.5 you can no longer contribute to a traditional IRA. But if your spouse is younger and still eligible to make contributions, he or she can contribute to your IRA by making a spousal contribution.

Read the entire article: 6 Retirement Planning Deadlines You Must Know

6 Retirement Planning Deadlines You Must Know Read Post »

Working Beyond 65 — Will You Want To Or Need To?

Retirement

Many of us work with two kinds of coworkers – those who say they can’t wait to retire and those who swear they love their jobs so much they plan to die at their desks. I get the first group.

Who doesn’t want to retire to a life of leisure without alarm clocks, meetings, conference calls, and commuting in traffic?

The second group, however, I view with a somewhat skeptical eye. Sure, some of us have dream jobs that we can’t wait to dive into every day and we would be very happy working in them until we are

Read the entire article: Working Beyond 65 — Will You Want To Or Need To?

Working Beyond 65 — Will You Want To Or Need To? Read Post »

6 Trends That Are Changing Retirement in America

Lifestyle, Retirement

During the course of your working career, technology and globalization have changed the work environment in countless ways. Many societal changes have impacted your personal life as well. It should come as no surprise that many of these same factors have also changed the retirement landscape.

Some changes are positive, others are unwelcome and some are simply different. But viewed as a whole, your retirement will be significantly different from your parents’ and your grandparents’ retirement. Here are six trends that are reshaping retirement.

Read the entire article: 6 Trends That Are Changing Retirement in America | On Retirement | US News

6 Trends That Are Changing Retirement in America Read Post »

Voyagers Complete 3-year Trip Around the World in a Polynesian Canoe With No Modern Technology

Lifestyle, Travel

Thanks to all our modern conveniences — GPS, Google Maps, self-driving cars, automatic pilot — traveling around the world has become easier than ever before. But what if all that went away? Would humanity still be able to figure out how to get from point A to point B?For one group of explorers, the answer is yes: Using absolutely no modern-day technology, they navigated a Polynesian canoe all the way around the globe.

As the Associated Press reported, the ship, which started its trip in 2014, had about a dozen crewmembers onboard for each leg of the global journey. The crew used their knowledge of currents, birds, wind, and the stars to sail nearly 40,000 nautical miles, making stops in 19 countries.

Read the entire article: Voyagers Complete 3-year Trip Around the World in a Polynesian Canoe With No Modern Technology | Travel + Leisure

Voyagers Complete 3-year Trip Around the World in a Polynesian Canoe With No Modern Technology Read Post »

LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!

Get financial updates and timely news. Straight to your inbox once a week!

This field is required.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Scroll to Top