Journey to Retirement

Review your Social Security Information Before Retiring

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 18:15:00 +0000

Before you retire, you'll want to take a look at your social security statement to get a rough estimate of what your benefits will be. We were pretty surprised by our own report and a few errors that we found on it. It's a good thing we're not ready yet to claim benefits and had the time to make corrections. Wonder what your own social security statement has calculated for you?

Soar like an eagle to retirement

You can obtain this form from the Social Security Administration in the USA. Other countries may have something similar. Currently, social security will replace on average forty percent of your annual earnings before retirement. That means that you'll also need other forms of income from your savings, 401 account, IRA or other investments. Social Security is complicated and you might want to read more with Social Security Simplified to know all you can before it's your turn to retirement, keep more of your money.

Here's what you can learn when you review your social security statement.
     - Estimated payment information based on the age at which you plan to retire. This information is useful so that you can determine if you'll have enough funds to retire early or if you should get the maximum benefits and retire at the full retirement age.

   - Yearly wages earned. This area is crucial to review since you might find some of your wages were not properly recorded and on my own, I found two full years that zero wages were recorded. This will impact that retirement benefit in a huge way and without reviewing my own social security statement, I'd have never known.

   - How much of a benefit your family will receive if you die and also your disability amount if you should ever become disabled and unable to continue working.

   - Contact information for the social security administration so that you can correct your current address, include any missing information to your account so that all the wages are recorded and your top payment can be sent to you when it's time to receive benefits.

   - Your personal best options to consider before choosing a retirement age.
   - Reminder to sign up for Medicare three months before you turn age 65 to avoid a penalty, even if you won't be retiring at age 65.
   - Retiring early considerations and the reduction in benefits that will occur if you do.
   - Information for your surviving benefactors if you should die.
   - Helpful links for more information you could benefit from and learn more about social security.

Once you contact the social security administration, you'll receive a yearly retirement statement that you can review against your current wages, check for any mistakes and contact them before you finally file to receive your benefits check.

It's worth the time now to make sure that this crucial form is correct since we'll all need every dollar towards a happy retirement.

Soar like an eagle to retirement

Thanks for reading and following along on our own journey to retirement. Have you already reviewed your own statement? Did you find any discrepancies worth sharing with us? We appreciate your comments or questions.

Patience on the way to retirement

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 15:59:00 +0000

Be patient while you are determining your retirement plan. You'll have to think very long term when you're trying to figure out the when, where and how. Tips to have the patience needed on the way to retirement:

     - Stay calm. Worry won't do any good and could hurt your health on the way to retirement so that by the time you do get to retire, you might not get to enjoy all your work.

     - Make a plan and stick to it. Small steps are okay and even if you aren't sure if it will work, most experts will tell you that one of the biggest hurdles you'll find on your own retirement journey is not making a plan at all and then waiting too long to do it.

     - Invest in something. Whether you're planning on investing your additional income in a 401, your savings account, stocks, bonds, real estate or other investments your money will grow even if it's slow but sure. Most people aren't experts in the stock market for example but, if you just keep doing it and studying and learning, you'll watch your investments grow in time. Many people recommend not putting all your eggs in one basket so diversify and have a mixed bag of investments. So, don't sweat the small stuff - just stay with your plan and re-evaluate it after months or a year.

     - Be vigilant. Keep your retirement in the back of your mind often. Mistakes will be made - my own: changing jobs instead of sticking it out with a company I didn't enjoy but, could have earned a pension with had I kept vigilant with them. Oh well, can't change it now and the moral is for you to determine if you should be vigilant yourself and stay with who you work for or not. Life lessons are often hard to swallow but, we all have our own.

     - Earn a pension. That takes us to the next tip for patience on the way to retirment - find out what works for you and try really hard to stay with a company that will give you a pension. Most often, after at least five years of continuous work with the same company, you'll be earning a pension for your retirement. If you're like me, you'll have a few companies that you'll get a pension from. Others stay with a company 20-30 years and get a pension. You'll have that to add to your portfolio for retirement. Something to think about.

     - Patience is key. Think years down the road even if you're nearing retirement age. Let your investments sit and grow without withdrawing any funds. It will be worth it in the end at least that's the plan!

     Best wishes as you continue your own journey to retirement and thanks for your comments or questions.

Housing Options for Retirees

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 18:49:00 +0000

Thinking about retirement is always a good idea no matter what age you are. The sooner you and I start to think about it, the smoother the process can become. One of the big questions is what type or style of house is available for retirees. Here's a quick overview of the Top eight housing options for retirees to help make
your own decision easier.

1. Patio Home - the patio home is one story living in a community of other homes and can include townhouse or condos as well as single family homes. Many patio homes are located in home owners association neighborhoods that include maintenance on the lawn, snow plowing and can include the roof and exterior. Oftentimes, you'll find that a patio home lot and land is owned by the association and you own from the walls inward. A patio home can be a good option for you if you don't want the maintenance of yard work any longer and just want to enjoy your home and friends in retirement but, still have the sense of community around you.

2. Ranch Home - similar to a patio home, a ranch style home is one story living that is typically set on it's own lot and not in an association community - at least not that I've found in the eastern part of the USA. I'd like a ranch home especially if it were in an association so that the landscaping would be done for us. I'll continue to look and let you know if I find any. You probably want to check out your area of the country too.

3. Tiny House - these are becoming more and more popular with those wanting to seriously downsize and get just the smallest space they need. They're in the news and on the internet a lot and many are a mere several hundred square feet in total. They're affordable and many retirees would find they can pay for them without carrying a mortgage so a great benefit there as well as the cost to run the household and maintenance are minimal. Could you live in the smallest of spaces? A Tiny House could be your answer to easy retiring.

4. Condo - this housing option for retirees is one to consider. A condo unit is usually many apartment style homes all contained in one building making neighbors something to consider. Especially intriguing are the amenities included such as a pool, clubhouse, restaurant, bar, community gathering area, tennis, bowling or bocci ball. Most condos offer an elevator making moving in and shopping trips easier for the elderly.

5. Condo Villa - these are condos without the walls of your neighbors. Each unit is a self contained home and still has all the benefits and no maintenance of condo living. Check them out in your area and see if it's the best fit for your retirement home.

6. Townhouse - similar to the condo, a townhouse is usually not as many units in one building but, rather are three to five homes next to each other. Sometimes, you can find single story townhouses to rent or buy and they do include caring for the lawn and exterior of the building.

7. An RV - yes, you can live in an RV and travel during your retirement if you'd like to consider this house option for retirees.If you've always wanted to see the sights, a recreational vehicle could be for you. You'll want to check out where you're going to park it and you should also know how to maintain it yourself to save costs.

8. Senior Housing Apartments - look for these apartment style homes surrounded by neighbors if you want to be nearer to hospitals and doctors with contained services in the building. This makes for easy to get to dining areas, laundry, community centers and are often next door to a hospital. Check out Tips for Buying a Home in a Retirement Community.

As the elder population rises, new home builders will be offering more opportunities for senior citizens to find affordable, convenient home styles that fit our budgets and lifestyle so stay tuned. There's a perfect home for you as you retire and you'll want to make sure to check out all the top options for senior citizens so you get what you can afford, in a safe neighborhood and with the amenities that help you continue to have the lifestyle you want.
Follow more ideas for your own retirement journey on our blog.

Selling Your Home - Preparing to Downsize

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 00:24:00 +0000

Preparing to downsize requires not only getting all the drawers and cupboards cleaned out but reducing the amount of just about everything you currently have and own. What about selling your home to get ready to live in a smaller dwelling that costs less and is just the right space for what you need. Even if you're not quite
ready to decide where to live, what to live in and whether or not to buy another home or rent, you might be ready to sell the big house you live in now and bank some money.

That's where we are. Getting ready to sell the house. It's a big decision, no doubt but, it's too big for us now anyway and way too much to clean and maintain. So we've decided to just make it as easy as possible to downsize and sell what we think we won't need or want later. It'll take some time to get it all done so we're taking it a few steps at a time, thinking ahead.

Here's what we're up to and wanted to share the steps we're taking since you might be thinking about it too.

Decide what you want to keep and what you no longer need. Either take it a room at a time or do things at a time such as clothing, shoes, books, collectibles, beds, furniture, etc.
Start creating boxes and label them so that as you go around the house you can place items in each box. Label them Donate, Keep, Sell.
Start major cleaning from ceilings and walls to windows, woodwork and floors. Take your time to do a great job.
Keep the house clean as you go to make it much easier later when it's finally time to list it.
Get the outside in tip top shape from trimming trees, shrubs and bushes to flowers and lawn to the driveway and walkways.
Take a break - yikes there's a lot to do when you're getting ready to sell your house isn't there!
Have a yard sale as soon as possible to create a cash flow to bank for later retirement:) and to help get rid of lots of stuff. You'll be amazed as I was at how much money there is laying around that you don't need and other people want and will love.
When you have a few boxes to donate, load them in your car and get them out of your house and into the hands of your favorite City Mission, Salvation Army or other local charity that can do the most good for others.
Invite your family members over to see the items you no longer want before you sell them. You may have forgotten that your sister loved an outfit you don't use any more and she might want it before you sell it.
Guess you should also have a box labeled Not Sure - these items you'll want to review with other family members. You know: exercise tapes or small equipment, games, crafts, hobbies. You might and might not have room for them where you're going or you might only want to focus on these things in your retirement. If you're not sure, put it in the box for deciding later.
In the kitchen, try to get rid of all items that you might and probably have two of. We've found at least two of the following so far: can openers, wine bottle openers, meat thermometers, zesters, strainers, storage containers, cooking spoons, etc.

That's what we're up to and doing this without outside help for now, there will be other things that we may need help with down the road. For now, it's a matter of cleaning, organizing, reorganizing, donating, selling and throwing away. We'll keep you posted on the next steps and just know that we're keeping busy with all these things for now. So, stay tuned and thanks for reading along!

Deciding Where to Retire

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 04:18:00 +0000

It's a great question, where to retire? There are lots of factors to consider before you make the big move to retire and can be an even bigger factor to choose the perfect location. Let's take a look at some of the things to consider that could help you when deciding where to retire.

     Health issues - some of the health issues to consider if you're planning a move would be mobility and joint problems, breathing issues, diseases and illness. If you already have a doctor nearby, could you really leave the area and get a new doctor? There are people that do it all the time, doctors and hospitals are everywhere. Could you do it? Oftentimes, breathing issues are helped by moving to areas that have cleaner air, lower altitudes and less humidity. There are good and bad things to making the retirement move to a totally different location so maybe it's best to make a list to determine how you should decide.

     Parents - probably the biggest factor in where you end up right? Will your parents still be alive when you're ready to retire? If so, you might not ever consider moving away from them. They may need your help either physically, financially or emotionally. In these cases, packing up everything and moving far from them could be the worst decision you make.

     Siblings - are you close to your sister, brother? I have two sisters and two brothers, seventeen nieces and nephews and even great nieces and nephews now. They all live for the most part fairly close by. Thinking of moving far away from them could be and actually would be really, really hard to do. Maybe some of them would consider retiring away with me, maybe not. If the finances are able to handle traveling to visit, that's one way that it could still be something to consider. Makes you wonder.

   Financial resources - this is a big consideration in how to determine where to retire. There are some places that simply have a lower cost of living, give tax incentives for buying/building a new home or offer tax abatement on owning a home to name a few. It might be better and easier to stay in the home you currently have especially if you have no mortgage. Do you want a new mortgage if you're retiring? Probably not if your income is fixed and you won't be working at all, even part time. If you have the resources to go anywhere, where would it be? The beach, a lake, the woods, the snow belt areas, a cabin, the city, a small town or an exotic island? The possibilities are endless but, only you know your money situation and what you'd like to do in your retirement.

   How safe is your neighborhood now and would you stay there as you grow older? It's an important consideration for you and your partner. Where are the safest places to be with low crime, neighborhood watch groups and community involvement?

     Think about all these things as you ponder where to retire and then do some research to find out costs involved. John Howell's book on Where to Retire is a good read and gives helpful information on all the above from finding a great community, easier life, cheaper housing, safe neighborhoods, ideal climates and more. It's updated for today's world and should help when you need to make this most important decision.

   We'd love to know where you are considering retiring in the comments below.

Save More Money Now.

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 20:35:00 +0000

Do you need to find more ways to save what you're earning for the future years? I've been thinking about lots of ways to save more money now to make those retirement years coming sooner and with the kind of lifestyle I'd like to have.

Here's what I've been doing and maybe these ideas could help you too.
     * Start saving all those daily coins. It's really amazing how much coins add up to dollars and even hundreds of dollars when you just use a dollar and keep the change. Set up your own coin bank like this auto count digital coin bank and you'll be able to see for yourself how much is there. Plus, it's a clear jar so you can see all your coins. Some people only save one denomination of coin but, I like saving all kinds and watching them grow. After the jar is full, take that to the bank and your savings account.

     * Start couponing if you don't already. Coupons seem like it's small change at first and a lot of work to gather them all, cut and store them and then remember to take them to the grocery store but, again it adds up to big savings over a month and the year. Some/most grocery stores show you savings at the bottom of the receipt so you can see that it's really worth it. If you saved $20, you could take a $20 bill and put it too in the savings account.

     * Reduce your outdoor dining expenses now and cook at home more. You can save hundreds of dollars a month that could be going in the savings account and towards your retirement. Check out Family Feasts for $75 a Week for great meal ideas on a budget that will surprise and amaze you. Even if saving just $100 a month, that's $1200 a year that could go into your retirement savings account. It takes just as much time to drive some place, sit, order, wait, get served, eat and cash out in a restaurant and sometimes it's even faster to cook and eat at home.

   * Use the harvest season to can foods for the upcoming winter. The Ball company shows you each step in their fabulous 'Ball - Complete Book of Home Preserving'. You don't need to be a fabulous gardener or even have a garden. There are always local produce stands in almost every area of the country. I buy a bushel of tomatoes at a time and am able to can a dozen quarts of fresh tomatoes and make a dozen quarts of salsa. You can use the canning methods to can your own homemade spaghetti sauce with your next bushel of tomatoes too. I like making tomatoes and peppers and can that for use in many dishes over the winter. All canning is a great way to save money and I hope you'll try it.

     * Rent movies for your entertainment so you can enjoy retirement sooner. Going to the movies is amazingly expensive these days and I'd rather retire at an earlier age than go out now.

   * Save money on holiday gifts by shopping early, shopping for sales, making your own decorations and gifts and buying just what is needed. You can follow more of my gift ideas here.

I hope you'll get busy and get started with these ideas and tips to save more money now so that when you're ready (and you're probably mentally ready now), it can happen for you.

Leave your comments on what you're doing to save money now, we'd love your ideas and how they're working for you.

Working up to Retirement

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 14:57:00 +0000

Today I wanted to talk about one of the things keeping me busy until retirement. Working full time! Sounds not so exciting right? Well, it's not time for me to retire yet but, I know that working now will pay off great later in life when I'm ready.
Keep your job for
as long as you can before you take the plunge into retirement. I plan on working full time until it's time to withdraw my social security since that check will be larger. It's based on your last 5 years of working along with your full years of work - so it makes sense not to go part time just before retiring. It's harder to do but, if you can it should be worth a larger monthly check to pay bills and put money in the bank. Keep an eye on that mail from the social security office which will show you how much you'll get if you retire and withdraw social security at age 60, 62, 65 or later. It's a big difference!
Check out the Joy of Not Working for tips and ideas on when to make the decision to retire and to do it with gusto!

If you can physically continue to work, I'd suggest you do it. I know quite a few people that decided to retire before social security would hit or just when it would and then regretted that decision. They sometimes end up going back for part time work to make ends meet. I hope not to do it that way and that's why full time is better, for me at least.

Maybe one idea to consider is working with your employer about changing your schedule instead of working 5 days in a row, maybe you can work 2 or 3 with a day off. For many people, having that one day off between work days makes a big difference in being able to keep up that work pace.

Part time work usually doesn't include any benefits such as sick time, vacation pay or personal time off with pay. Can you really afford that? Many of us can't so take some time to really think about all those things before you can the plunge into retirement too.

We'd love to know your thoughts on working full time until your magic age to retire, let us know in the comments area below.

Personal finance budgeting for retirement

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 01:43:00 +0000

Are you thinking about your retirement even though you're no where near ready to retire? Many people are and they're doing things now that help them save money, keep more of their money, reducing their credit card debt, downsizing their homes, living with less and surviving while thriving with more, well less really!

Would you like to know how and where to invest your hard earned income so that it's safe and helps you to make more money? Here are some of our best ideas for personal finance budgeting for retirement:

Did you know that if you spend $1000 on credit card fees and interest, that same money could add up to $10,000 in your retirement account instead! Wow, that's amazing and one reason we should all be getting rid of our credit card debt and instead be investing that money somewhere -- anywhere would be better than giving it to a credit card company!

Me too and that's why I'm reading and putting into practice this personal finance budgeting program and will list some of my favorite products and ideas to do it. I'll be adding more to this section so subscribe or stay tuned for more!

     First off, Suzi Orman Women & Money. Since women are mainly the ones in charge of family finances and I'm no exception to that rule, it made sense to me to get this book!
              Suzi helps you to ask the right questions with your spouse/partner about money. Get on the same page with your significant other to save for retirement and retire smart. So far, I've loved the easy to follow sections that get us thinking about finances and how to make the most of what we have and how to keep more of it.
               I've already started taking advantage of what she's saying in Women & Money, saving more and getting rid of some of the junk around me that could be holding me back. Suzi Orman gives us a look at some wealthy women and what sets them apart from those that aren't wealthy.
               I love how Suzi helps women get rid of the blame game and also learn why things don't go well sometimes with money. Learn for yourself what you're doing wrong with those green bills in your wallet and how to respect, appreciate and keep more of them. There's a great little project to do that helped me a ton and it's such a simple idea that you'll maybe be like me and say why didn't I think of that sooner.... Better late than never!
               This is one of the first books I suggest you get today, at less than $10 that's a crazy great deal and we'll all be saving more soon. I know I have been already and look forward to sharing my next favorite book and learning tool with you soon. Get reading, let me know when you have your own Suzi Orman Women & Money and what you love first and foremost about it too!

Writing as Part of My Retirement Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:32:00 +0000

I have several ways that I'm earning money on my way to my retirement - that's one reason it's a journey for me. I don't see retirement as a way to stop working all together. I like work, I like to stay busy, I like lots of different things and writing is one I'm sure I'll try to do always for as long as I can see, type and comprehend!

Are you like me? Are you writing as part of your own retirement journey? If you are, let me share some of the ways that I earn money and you can too. While google's adsense program is one of the most lucrative ways to earn money online writing, it's harder and harder to get an account with them. Check them out if you want but, do read and pay attention to all the terms of service or you could get banned for life.

Check out any of these great ways to earn money writing and you won't have to stop working forever, just change what work you do and work when you want.
Write on Squidoo - it's fun, easy and although it takes some time to get used to it the community is great and will help with your questions. Squidoo pays via paypal and you can earn from tier payments as well as add ebay, youtube and amazon. If you like writing, why not spend some time each day devoted to writing and stash the money earned each month in your own retirement account. Edit to add that now all those articles are featured here on hubpages.

Start a blog and write what you are passionate about. Others will find your information useful and helpful if you share from your heart. It takes time to build a following but, it's fun and worth it in the end to your retirement journey. Blogger makes it free and you can add links to help monetize your blog.

Monetize your Blog: Viglink is a great site and easy way to make money without you having to do anything except sign up, add the code by copy and paste to your own site and leave the rest to them. Viglink adds light underlining to some of your words and when anyone clicks on those, you earn money. Easy peezy! Check out viglink here:

Infobarrel is another writing site I love and use for my retirement journey and you may want to look at it too. Write about what you love, help people find the information online that they're looking for and you can earn up to 75% plus amazon sales too. Join Infobarrel here and I'll see you there!

Hubpages is popular with many. Squidoo recently switched all our articles from there and you can find me there now right here, so hope you'll join me in writing what you know and love and make money from your work.

Wikinut is yet another writing site that allows anyone to write about what they love and it pays decent.

Writing is fun and is a great way to pass the time instead of watching tv or playing on the computer. What do you think of writing as part of your retirement plan? Let us know in the comments below and we'll add more writing sites soon for you to check out!

Time Flies When You're Downsizing

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 22:23:00 +0000

It sure doesn't seem like over a month since our last post here on our journey to retirement but, that's part of the journey! Working, cleaning, organizing, decluttering, job searching, writing, selling and downsizing are all items that need taken care of and what's been keeping us busy. Let's get busy sharing ideas on how to downsize:

Starting our downsizing project:

* Going through each cabinet, cupboard, drawer, closet in each room to take a really hard and good look at what we have, what we need and what we can get rid of.

* Making piles, boxes of all the items we're going to get rid of.

* Organizing piles into Keep, Donate, Sell.

* Search the internet for pricing to make all for sale items reasonable or better than reasonable to move them and make some extra money. Price all our for sale items - what a project!

* Prepare for garage sales - list the sale in the newspaper for around $25, list on craig's list and mention it also on facebook, tell friends and family, post flyers at our developments entry points

* We've been holding weekend garage sales all month and we'll keep doing it until we feel we've gotten rid of enough of our items and feel comfortable donating the rest.

* Keep going! It's an ongoing project for us. We have a 4 bedroom home with 2.5 baths, sunroom, basement, laundry room and garage that all need sorted so we can downsize and take just what we need.

We have a long way to go to downsize our large home but, we keep our eye on the prize and encourage you to do the same... we can do this!

Until next time, keep working on your own plan for retirement too. Let us know what you're currently working on and we'll let you know how our sales are going!

Getting ready to retire - one way to save money

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:50:00 +0000

As part of our journey to retirement, we're looking for ways to save money so that we can retire earlier, Yes? Of course that's part of the plan. The more we can save on our everyday household needs and stash more of our income into our various retirement plan accounts the faster we'll reach our goals.

I've been searching for ways to do just this and found a way to get rid of my electric bill. That would save me at least $100 per month or $1200 a year. Adding this amount by itself will really add up. Plus, I like not having an electric bill. Free energy seems almost impossible doesn't it? Not any more! And, it's eco friendly so won't pollute the environment, another interest to me.

Would you like to do the same?

What if you could reduce or eliminate your electric bill? Check out the newest and latest product that will help you do just that right here.
It's a solar stirling plant that uses the sun to generate free electricity. Watch the videos and learn more with the above link. This simple to install system isn't a solar panel (those are expensive and you'd need an expert to install it) and it's a DIY project that anyone can do for a super inexpensive price.

I'm reading the reviews by others that are using it and I like what I see. I'll keep reviewing and finding us all products to help us save money, make money and get on the road to retirement earlier than most.

Thanks for following along, let me know your comments below as we learn together to get on the journey to retirement.

Think, Write, Retire Sounds Right up my Alley!

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:34:00 +0000

Think, Write, Retire sounds like just what I need and want for my journey to retirement!

Retirement doesn't and won't come easy but, you can keep doing what you're doing and have to wait to retire well into your 70's like most people or you could do something differently and get there years ahead of schedule. Check it out here and see if you agree!

You can do it too, just look at some of these ideas below:

What is it that you know and love?
Do you have expertise in anything such as gardening, decorating, hobbies, traveling, job hunting, learning, pets, sporting, going to school, movie reviews, song and dance, networking?

What could you share with others that are searching for answers?
Do you want to continue working that day job or would you enjoy staying home?

Once you answer some of these questions, it's easy and fun to learn how to write and teach others while earning an income at the same time. Everyone has a passion for a product or a skill that others search for on the internet and you could be teaching them!

Don't sell yourself short! You know and can do so much more than you may give yourself credit for! Think about all the things you do every day, every week or every month that you have special tips for doing and that information could help someone else. If you do, you could write about it and earn money!

Writing for extra money isn't fast and must be built up over time but, with consistency and continued learning, many thousands of people are earning a living online! You could too and it's a big part of my own journey to retirement.

Check out Think, Write & Retire and see for yourself if it's something you should be doing as a way to your own retirement. Don't wait for Uncle Sam to help you or for your savings account to grow to a figure that could help you stop working! The older we get, the better chance that we'll need at least a million dollars!! to retire comfortably.

It's free and fast to start your own blogging platform, just like the one you're reading now on blogger.com. Blogger is owned by google and they make it really easy to add your own words, links, photos and get your information on the world wide web for others to find. There are other sites too that you can write on but, if you're new to it, blogger makes it easy.

If you start a blog, or join a revenue sharing site such as squidoo, infobarrel, or any of the other most popular writing sites, let me know and I'll be happy to follow you and read along and even give you tips if you want or need it.

Would you like to start writing to earn money but, have no idea where to start? Check out Real Writing Jobs. They have great ideas to get you started and earning money!

See you next time, thanks again for reading and let us all know your thoughts in the comments section below or share it with your friends!

Learning about stocks and trading for my retirement portfolio

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Learning more about stocks and trading, adding value to my retirement portfolio is what I wanted to make a quick post about today.

I want most of my retirement journey to be in my home business and my writing business but, recognize that's it's definitely not smart ot put all my eggs in one basket.

Even if that basket includes several or many sites to use to get there. Part of my journey to retirement is learning more about how to invest in stocks and really investing in general. I have only limited experience with stocks and have been searching for ways to help me get it! I'll talk more about my account with Ameritrade, I like them too and still don't get it all even after years of investing.
Do you get it? If you need some help, go to the experts is what I always try to do. I'm not interested in learning it all but, need enough information on investing to make smart decisions with my income and make it grow better than it is in a simple savings account.

I want a guide to help me learn a fast and easy way to play in the stock market on items that have a high probability of success and have been doing some research. I found a review on Trademiner by Dr Scott Brown, a finance PHD that explains what's inside and it seems to be his favorite tool and so am checking into Trademiner, Stocks, Futures and Forex.

Do you have any experience with it? I'd love to know what you think and what plans you have today to make your way closer to your retirement.

Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts and comments!

Retire in Great Shape!

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:30:00 +0000

It's time for a daily workout - there's no sense preparing for retirement if we won't be in the best shape possible, right!? We want to be in great shape financially but, physically is just as important and maybe even more so....

Yoga for me, what about a little for you too. Do you already do some yoga? Or do you have another exercise that you prefer? Even beginners can do and enjoy Yoga without hurting or straining yourself. Check it out here!

Yoga helps me to stretch out all my extremities to loosen them up, elongate my body, increase my flexibility and it really feels great especially after long hours on the computer creating my journey to retirement! Yoga helps to reduce stress too. So, if you're getting worried about anything happening in your life right now get started on some yoga stretching moves. Yoga feels amazing!

So, I'll be putting on my yoga outfit, getting my yoga mat and yoga ball while I pop in a DVD to do at least one session of stretching exercises. I hope you'll join me today and do your own workout. It doesn't take long to do and you're worth spending 20-30 minutes on, aren't you!! YES, YOU ARE!

Later, I'll be working on sharing a list of writing sites that I use and love so that you can check them out, see if you like them, maybe incorporate one or two of them into your own retirement plan too.

Always remember, don't leave all your eggs in one basket - we never know when one site, one job or one of anything will be here today and gone tomorrow.

Until next time, thanks for reading and taking the time to make a comment!

Don't Count on the World Ending in 2012 - Stay on Your Journey to Retirement!

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

After watching the movie 2012 tonight, have to say it's impressive. The effects used for this movie show true devastation of the world. Have you seen it? You might want to check it out if you haven't.. Anyway, I remember all the way back in high school when the world was supposedly ending. So many of my classmates got to take the day off from school! I wonder what they did all day in preparation of the world ending... Has that ever happened to you that you either got to stay home when the world was ending or you had to go to school or work instead?

Well, needless to say we're all still here all these years later and since that time in high school there have been other dates that they world was supposed to end.

Here's a video clip of 2012 the movie courtesy of youtube, if you haven't seen some of the spectacular effects, sounds and totaly devastation that is likely to occur if the world were to end from a natural catastrophe. Enjoy the clip!!

     So, do we worry about the world ending and not worry about our own retirement just in case it doesn't happen? I don't know about you but, I'm going to take an educated guess and say that December 22, 2012 we'll all still be here so we better worry about our retirement plans!

     I'll still be writing on my four blogs and revenue sharing writing sites with article writing and earning money from writing on my journey to retirement.

     Your thoughts on the world ending and how you plan to retire??

Home Office Setup

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:33:00 +0000

Home office setup (courtesy of istockphoto.com)

Now, that's a nice, neat and organized desk! Just what you and I need on our journey to retirement - to start to declutter our stuff and get down to business working on the future!

Today I've been working in my home office and after years of having a home based business, I realized that my office could be much better organized and I think I could get a lot more accomplished if it were. Much of what I need to do is get rid of things I no longer need. I do keep lots of magazines, books, journals as well as products, gift baskets and all the goodies that go inside and boxes for shipping orders.

I'll be spending this week reorganizing my office so that I can be much more productive and in the meantime, thought that this article on Home Office Setup would be helpful to you if you're in need of some office set up or organization.

I'll try to add some photos of my work and progress as I work at improving my office space this week - it's a little exciting even though it's also work!!

Have a great day and let me know what you're doing to work on your journey to retirement. I'd love your thoughts!

The Tax Benefits of a Home Based Business is part of my Journey to Retirement

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

One of the reasons that I'll always keep my home based business is the great tax benefits it gives me. It's not only a business I've loved for 25 years, it helps men and women find and use the best skin care, personal care, household and wellness products, it's fun, it's easy if I'm consistently working a little at a time, I get wholesale prices for my own products and yes, those tax deductions!

There are so many things we buy on a regular basis for a home office and unless you have a home based business, you can't take a deduction for paper, computers, printers, fax machines, staplers and all those general office supplies. Here's more information on the tax benefits of a home based business that might have you considering adding something like it to your journey to retirement too.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!
The tax benefits!

I'm writing lenses (articles) on Squidoo - you can too!

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:30:00 +0000

I'm writing lenses on Squidoo and would love you to join me. Write what you love and share your knowlege to earn an extra income. Write about anything you can share information about that others are seeking, keep it updated and fresh and earn for years to come.

Squidoo isn't fast cash but, rather it's a slower process of writing articles, keeping them updated and fresh in the eyes of the search engines but, once it's written it can earn indefinitely with a little promotion. Are you looking for a revenue sharing writing site? Check out Squidoo! Pay is based on shared adsense, infolinks, amazon, youtube and if you have cafepress or zazzle you can also make money using those too.

It's part of my journey to retirement and could help you too. Click the link above to join and then look for me there, I'll help you as much as possible and you'll meet other great writers there too.

Visualizing my Journey to Retirement

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

When I think of my retirement, I don't envision a little old lady in a nursing home!

Instead I'd love to watch the sun rises from my sunroom, never miss a sunset over a lakeview, golf or at least ride the golf cart while my husband golfs! I'll keep writing into my retirement since it brings me joy, it's fun and it's easy - would be easier if I had more time and that will come with my journey to retirement too.

I'll walk every day, several times a day. I'll continue to help my skin care customers although that should be pretty well set on auto pilot since they can each have their own account numbers and order directly online, I get the commission - sweet deal!

I'll help others in my community by volunteering at my favorite soup kitchens, church and organizations that do good works.

I love the Law of Attraction, The Secret and wrote this article on How to Make a Vision Board for help with achieving goals. I'll be making my own new vision board soon and will share it with you! I hope you'll read how to make a vision board if you are considering retirement and need help with your goal setting.

Thanks for reading!

Taking my retirement in my own hands

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:14:00 +0000

Our economy has been in the slumps for years now and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight. Our government doesn't seem to me to be doing anything to bring jobs to our country and yesterday, the Secret Service got nabbed for having a killer party at the taxpayer's expense of almost One Million !! Dollars in Las Vegas at a supposed 'conference'.

This is just another one of the newest reasons that none of us can count on the government to do anything to help any of us and if we want to retire in any sort of decent lifestyle, it's going to be up to each one of us to do our own thing.

One of the ways that I plan to get to retirement is to keep working for myself. Having just recently closed our restaurant, I'll have much more time on my hands for writing (Yay!) and to work my other business - a home based business that allows me to work when I want, with who I want and where I want. I wrote this article: Making Money in a Slow Economy to explain how others can start their own home based business too and hope you'll find some interesting information in it.

Let me know what you think! I'm excited to begin this new journey of retirement.

Welcome to My Journey to Retirement

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:02:00 +0000

As a writer and blogger for the last five years, this year I thought I'd start a new blog that I could post many of my writings in one location as well as share my path to retirement with you. I'll be gathering information from my accounts at my two blogs, Infobarrel, Squidoo, YouSayToo and Redgage and will share how you can get started doing what I do too.

Retirement for 50 Boomers!

I've also been a restaurant entrepreneur and owned an Italian American restaurant with my husband. We've just decided recently to close it after 17 years in business. My husband has been a chef for over 35 years and owning and operating a restaurant is a physically demanding job and he's had problems with shoulder, elbow and knee problems. It's just been getting too difficult to continue this type of work and it isn't helping our retirement plan either! More on that in future posts, running a restaurant and much of what it entails.

I'm looking forward to this blog, I can't wait to start sharing my articles with you as well as share ideas for you to begin your own journey to retirement as well.

I hope you'll follow along, add comments and suggestions during this process.