"Yes" or "No" - Spencer Johnson
The Guide to Better Decisions
A better decision is one that makes us feel better, and gets better results. Decision is mine. If I make better decision, I am heading towards a better direction. Better decision makes my life happier and more successful throughout my life. I am in a life is largely the result of all the choices I've made. These choices impact my future.
Steps to make a better decision:
1) First stop proceeding with a poor decision - If you want a hot cup of tea, you must first empty your cup. Pouring hot tea into a cup full of cold tea means the hot tea cannot enter the cup but rather spills over onto the saucer. First, stop doing what we know it doesn't work (stop following what was done before)
2) System to make better decision - I avoid indecision and half-decisions based on half truths. I use both parts of a reliable system to consistently make better decisions: a cool head and a warm heart. I use my HEAD by asking myself a practical question and I consult my HEART by asking myself a private question. Then, after I listen to myself and act on it.
ASK YOUR HEAD
"Am I meeting the Real NEED, informing myself of OPTIONS, and THINKING it through?"
1) The Real Need - a need is a necessity. A want is a wish and it is nice to have. If you know what you need, it is easier to make a better decision.
Pursuing only the real need in the very beginning gets me better results in the end. This means both seeing a vision of needed results in such real detail that I sense myself already achieving them, and then doing only what meets the real need.
Wants are wishes. Needs are necessities. Needs are essential for success and fulfillment. To see what I merely want, I ask, "What do I want to do now?" To see what is really needed, I ask, "What would I like to have done?"
What I really need from this decision? For me and for others to feel successful & fulfilled? Is my vision clearly focused on the needed results? Am I saying "Yes" to only what meets the real need, and "No" to everything else?
Am I meeting the real need?
I use my head by asking myself a practical question : "Am I meeting the Real Need, Informing Myself of Options, and Thinking It Through?"
Yes or No.
It takes less time to make a better decision than it does to correct a poor decision.
One of the options we have is we do have options. When you say you have no other choice, means you are not aware of your options. How do we become aware - by asking questions and gather needed information (information you need to know to make a better decision). It would be wiser to make our own observations, talk to people yourself - validate the information yourself. By gathering information, you become less naive and more realistically informed. You begin to see more reality. You become more aware of your options.
There are two kind of information - information nice to have, and information that you need to have.
Which option is the best - meet the real need.
When one stop feeling sorry about himself and saw the reality of other possibilities, he realized he could develop a variety options, and he can be better (The reality was that these and other options were always there).
Informing Myself of Options : A Summary
First, I realize I probably have several options I am not aware of.
As I gather the needed information, I become more aware of my options.
I choose the option which meets the real need.
Information is a collection of facts and feelings: that is, what really is, & how people feel about it.
I gather the needed information, I observe it, or if someone gives me the information , I verify it.
Do I have the information I need? Who has it? Where is it? What is the best way to get it? Have I verified it myself?
As I gather the needed information, what do I see my options are? Am I informing Myself of Options?
I use my head by asking myself a practical question:
Am I meeting the Real Need, Informing Myself of Options, and Thinking It Through? Yes or No
Thinking it through - like a cheese player - thinks several moves ahead. We can imagine any situation we might find ourselves in and simply ask, "Then what would probably happen? Then what? Then what? until we think the situation through."
Before I make my decision, it could be useful to take each of my options and ask, "Then what would happen? Then what?"
Our lives are shaped by decision which we do not think are all that important at the time. But our decisions work like dominoes. The results of one decision can affect the next decision - more than ew realize - and we need to respect this.
Thinking It Through : A Summary
My past decisions are my own best mentors. Looking at them realistically can teach me more than any person to avoid illusion and see reality.
As I look at my results, I am not too hard on myself. I lighten up. I did the best I knew now.
Now I get better results because I focus on meeting the real need, informing myself of options, and thinking things through to a better result.
To see how good my results are, I measure them against my meeting the real need.
What would the results have to be to fill the real need? If I act on my decision, What would probably happen? Then what? Then what? What do I fear would be the worst result? What would the best result be? What would I ddo in the worst/best case? How clearly do I forsee the most likely results? For me? For others? How I Thought It Through?
I use my head by asking myself a practical question:
Am I Meeting the Real Need, Informing Myself of Options, and Thinking It Through? Yes or No
To make a far better decision, you have to ask you head and your heart.
The better answers, the ones that more easily get better results, are invariably simple (Simle is all that is needed and nothing more). Once you discover the simple answer, it becomes the obvious answer. Making a better decision often depends on seeing, at the time, what becomes obvious to you later.
Why does asking myself questions help me so much? Because questions propel us to find answers. We often make poor decisions because we did not first ask ourselves a few simple questions.
"Questions are like alarm clocks, Questions wake us up."
Every effective decision we have ever made has been based on reality. Our ineffective decisions are based on illusions we believe at the time. The questions shine a light on the illusion.
There are two halves in you - your head and your heart. Head - the thinking half in your head, and the feeling half in your heart. - to meet our character. Our character is our collection of personal beliefs and how we act on them. Our beliefs are a private matter. Your practical decisions are mirrors of your personal thoughts, feelings, and beliefs on display for everyone to see. They clearly reveal the way you view the world and yourself.
My decision reveal my beliefs.
The private question concerns your personal beliefs about:
1) Your integrity - people who have integrity won't fool themselves about a situation. They will cut through the nonsense and get to the true core of things quickly.
2) Your intuition - people won't look to others to make their tough decisions. They can depend on themselves.
3) Your insight into your own worth
The private question you can ask yourself is
"Does my decision show I am honest with myself, trust my intuition, and deserve better?"
Reality is whatever really is. "Truth" is a description of reality - mine or somebody else's. Integrity is telling myself the truth. And "honesty" is telling the truth to other people.
My ego holds on to my illusions. I could put my ego aside for the moment.
When we make our decision is as important as what we decide to do. In this day and age, we all need to make better decisions sooner.
The sooner I see the truth, the sooner I make a better decision.
My Integrity : A Summary
My poor decisions were based on illusion I believed at the time. My better decisions are based on realities I recongize in time.
The sooner I see the truth, the sooner I make a better decision. To find the truth, I look for it.
The better decision is based on the simple answer as it actually becomes the obvious answer.
To discover the truth, I look for the fiction I want to believe is true but cannot really count in.
We see each other's mistakes more easily, so i often park my ego & ask others what they can see and then I notice what really feels true to me.
Have I looked closely enough at my past decisions to learn from them? Have I done a reality check by observing what is really going on around me and within me? Have I noticed the obvious? Do I see the truth? Am I telling myself the Truth?
I consult my heart by asking myself a private question:
Does my decision show I am honest with myself, Trust my Intuition, and Deserve Better? Yes or No
Your own intuition is your own unconscious knowledge based on your own personal experiences. It's what you somehow sense is right for you. You can learn by looking back at how you made your past decisions. Recall what you sensed at the time you were making a specific decision. Then look at consequences.
Intuition includes not only what you feel about the decision you make, but also what you sense about the way you arrive at your decision.
If you see a situation as complicated (you cannot distinguish one part from the other) you will remain lost. If you see it as complex (there are many parts to the problem) and analyze the many parts, you will find several simple, obvious answers. Put them all together and you will have your solution.
My Intuition : A Summary
The more I use my intuition to look at how I feel about how I am making my decision, the more I protect myself from making costly mistakes.
How I feel about how I make a decision often forecasts my results.
I will not make my decision based on fear, as fear has never brought me very good results.
I may make a much better decision when I guided not by ego but my "Better Guide".
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
When Can I Retire
When Can I Retire? Andrew Allentuck
Chapter 1 Retirement: The Destination and the Trouble of Getting there
What keep people working is fear of poverty. A survey in 2007 showed that 44% of respondents said they were not worried about outliving their financial resources while 33% said they were worried. The remainder, presumably, did not care enough to have a firm opinion.
Another survey in 2007 shows 2/3 of Canadians now in their early to mid-forties will have difficulty as retirees paying for basics unless they increase their rate of savings or are prepared to keep working past age 65.
Life expectancy and Health Expectations - Planning for retirement is more than about just money, it's also about health. Life expectancy is going up but health expectancy is not keeping up.
Risks for the future - To minimize /control spending -
1) establish a way of life that minimize unexpected and large bills, like manage upkeep to avoid major expenses. Small repairs are often less costly than repairs deferred until breakdowns happen.
2) avoid debt as it can threaten financial security
3) unexpected cost - long illness and hospitalization, sue for an injury, etc
How financial planners see Retirement - the earlier you retire and the more completely you retire, the greater the odds of winding up poor at the end of life. Financial planners add 5 years to the conventional life expectancy of 77 for men and 82 for women and then assume in their calculations. What assets to buy - stocks, bonds, real estate, cash and commodities. It is not enough to stay in cash to catch the inflation. Diversification helps to minimize risks and improve return. It is always good to educate yourself.
Chapter 2 - The Big Gamble:Setting Up a Retirement Plan
The decision to retire is one of the biggest gambles, especially when you are retire young. If it turns out badly at the end, it may bot be possible to correct the mistake.
Challenges for planning - many of the things we want to predict are really not readily knowable.
Uncertainties of Retirement
1) Value of Assets - House, investments, currency, etc
2) Returns from savings and investments - volatility of the market
3) Health and costs - will the government continue to pay for it
4) Reliability of income - CPP, OAS
5) The state of your life - how is the lifestyle
6) The state of the world
7) Your state of mind about retirement
8) Employability
9) Inflation
Timing Retirement - time creates two very distinct meaning in estimating how much money one needs to retire.
1) Money to cover the length of the retirement period
2) Time to save for retirement
Large potential retirement spending
1) Shelter - mortgage, property tax, maintenance
2) Social spending - entertainment, travelling
3) Taxes
4) Medical, dental and drug expenses - depends on health
5) Other discretionary spending
Life is more than money. But people who are going to be the most free to enjoy life will be those who have no substantial debts and littel or no exposure to the cost of rising interest rates. They will be people who have set their incomes in retirement to be adequate for their expenses and who have financial reserves for unexpected cost. Whatever plan is devised, build in wiggle room - that means extra income and extra wealth. Achieve cash flow in excess of expenses and add a cushion for the unexpected. When you have that, you are ready to retire.
Chapter 3 - The Decision Point
Planning to retire is both a matter of mapping out cash flow and expenses for the future and hope that what you know today will still be true and right tomorrow. The longer the planning period, the more that can go wrong.
Building income security:
1) annuities - fixed amount of money every month
2) dividend paying stocks
3) government bonds
4) GIC
Reasons Not to retire
1) Lack of incentives - meaning to life
2) Aloneness
3) Loss of identity
4) Giving up your status
5) Losing perks - financial benefits
6) Loss of financial safety nets
7) Lack of pension
8) Cost of replacing job-related transportation and accommodation
9) Can't afford to retire
10) Concern about risk
Reasons to Retire
1) You can afford to quit work
2) You have to go - compulsory retirement
3) You want to be near friends and family
4) You have the opportunity and desire to take a buyout
5) Your pension and savings are so big that you might as well retire
6) You want to reduce stress
7) You want to use retirement assets already in place
8) Health concerns
Chapter 4 - Budgeting for the future
Financial planning is as much an exercise in imagination as it is pencil work. Retirement may be a continuation of a way of life or it may mean living a different life altogether.
Plan for retirement in stages because life will change:
- below 65; go-go stage - active and spend more in travelling; fear of running out of money
- 65 to 75; slow-go stage - normal spending will decline but health costs may rise
- over 75; no-go stage - less mobile but don't know how long it will be
A balance of components - the amount of spending depends on style of retirement. The more money you have for retirement, the lower the fraction of it you are likely to spend. The wealthy can diversify their assets more easily than the not-quite-rich. Diversification lowers their risk in any one investment and increases their chances of their fortunes growing larger.
Controlling expenses in Retirement
If you find expenses are greater than you had foreseen, you hae to cut discretionary spending (travel, entertainment, etc). With more time to spend, you can try thinking of value for each dollar (get bargain sales/careful shopping/looks for best deals).
Emergency funds
Having a cash reserve make a differnce between living as one planned. 3 to 6 months income for emergencies to avoid borrowing to pay unexpected bills.
Review and Sensitivity
Good plans have to be changeable. Sensitivity component to review:
1) Give up driving
2) Downsize of shelter
Chapter 5-6: Where will the Money come from?
1) Public pensions - OAS, GIS, CPP, QPP
2) Employment-based pension - defined benefit and defined contribution plans
3) Individual saving plans - RRSP, LIF, LIRA, LIRIF
4) Insurance-based pension - life policy
5) Tax-free savings account
Chapter 7: Managing Retirement Assets
One Basic Fact - If it goes wrong, there is less time to make up for losses
Assets management is really a form of risk control. As you grow older, the value of risk reduction becomes apparent. The reason - there is less time to make up losses if an investment sours. One cannot predict how any stock or even any sector may perform in a certain time period, so diversification among many stocks, sectors, and assets types is essential. A well-diversified portfolio may have stocks, bonds, and perhaps some real estate. As well, the investor has to be aware of tax issues that affect cash flow.
Chapter 8: What are you going to do with all those years?
Retirement at any age requires 3 things - 3M
1) Money - enough of it
2) Motive - a reason for retiring; and
3) Meaning - a sense of fulfillment in the time away from work
Useful retirement plan should be:
1) Fulfilling - you need a desire to do things and a plan to do them in succession as you age
2) Affordable - a life of cruising works only if there is a budget to support it
3) Engaging - the retirement plan should provide a way to make meaningful use of the free time you will have on your hands
4) Adaptable - if one plan does not work out, there should be another to take its place
Another option is to live outside Canada.
Chapter 1 Retirement: The Destination and the Trouble of Getting there
What keep people working is fear of poverty. A survey in 2007 showed that 44% of respondents said they were not worried about outliving their financial resources while 33% said they were worried. The remainder, presumably, did not care enough to have a firm opinion.
Another survey in 2007 shows 2/3 of Canadians now in their early to mid-forties will have difficulty as retirees paying for basics unless they increase their rate of savings or are prepared to keep working past age 65.
Life expectancy and Health Expectations - Planning for retirement is more than about just money, it's also about health. Life expectancy is going up but health expectancy is not keeping up.
Risks for the future - To minimize /control spending -
1) establish a way of life that minimize unexpected and large bills, like manage upkeep to avoid major expenses. Small repairs are often less costly than repairs deferred until breakdowns happen.
2) avoid debt as it can threaten financial security
3) unexpected cost - long illness and hospitalization, sue for an injury, etc
How financial planners see Retirement - the earlier you retire and the more completely you retire, the greater the odds of winding up poor at the end of life. Financial planners add 5 years to the conventional life expectancy of 77 for men and 82 for women and then assume in their calculations. What assets to buy - stocks, bonds, real estate, cash and commodities. It is not enough to stay in cash to catch the inflation. Diversification helps to minimize risks and improve return. It is always good to educate yourself.
Chapter 2 - The Big Gamble:Setting Up a Retirement Plan
The decision to retire is one of the biggest gambles, especially when you are retire young. If it turns out badly at the end, it may bot be possible to correct the mistake.
Challenges for planning - many of the things we want to predict are really not readily knowable.
Uncertainties of Retirement
1) Value of Assets - House, investments, currency, etc
2) Returns from savings and investments - volatility of the market
3) Health and costs - will the government continue to pay for it
4) Reliability of income - CPP, OAS
5) The state of your life - how is the lifestyle
6) The state of the world
7) Your state of mind about retirement
8) Employability
9) Inflation
Timing Retirement - time creates two very distinct meaning in estimating how much money one needs to retire.
1) Money to cover the length of the retirement period
2) Time to save for retirement
Large potential retirement spending
1) Shelter - mortgage, property tax, maintenance
2) Social spending - entertainment, travelling
3) Taxes
4) Medical, dental and drug expenses - depends on health
5) Other discretionary spending
Life is more than money. But people who are going to be the most free to enjoy life will be those who have no substantial debts and littel or no exposure to the cost of rising interest rates. They will be people who have set their incomes in retirement to be adequate for their expenses and who have financial reserves for unexpected cost. Whatever plan is devised, build in wiggle room - that means extra income and extra wealth. Achieve cash flow in excess of expenses and add a cushion for the unexpected. When you have that, you are ready to retire.
Chapter 3 - The Decision Point
Planning to retire is both a matter of mapping out cash flow and expenses for the future and hope that what you know today will still be true and right tomorrow. The longer the planning period, the more that can go wrong.
Building income security:
1) annuities - fixed amount of money every month
2) dividend paying stocks
3) government bonds
4) GIC
Reasons Not to retire
1) Lack of incentives - meaning to life
2) Aloneness
3) Loss of identity
4) Giving up your status
5) Losing perks - financial benefits
6) Loss of financial safety nets
7) Lack of pension
8) Cost of replacing job-related transportation and accommodation
9) Can't afford to retire
10) Concern about risk
Reasons to Retire
1) You can afford to quit work
2) You have to go - compulsory retirement
3) You want to be near friends and family
4) You have the opportunity and desire to take a buyout
5) Your pension and savings are so big that you might as well retire
6) You want to reduce stress
7) You want to use retirement assets already in place
8) Health concerns
Chapter 4 - Budgeting for the future
Financial planning is as much an exercise in imagination as it is pencil work. Retirement may be a continuation of a way of life or it may mean living a different life altogether.
Plan for retirement in stages because life will change:
- below 65; go-go stage - active and spend more in travelling; fear of running out of money
- 65 to 75; slow-go stage - normal spending will decline but health costs may rise
- over 75; no-go stage - less mobile but don't know how long it will be
A balance of components - the amount of spending depends on style of retirement. The more money you have for retirement, the lower the fraction of it you are likely to spend. The wealthy can diversify their assets more easily than the not-quite-rich. Diversification lowers their risk in any one investment and increases their chances of their fortunes growing larger.
Controlling expenses in Retirement
If you find expenses are greater than you had foreseen, you hae to cut discretionary spending (travel, entertainment, etc). With more time to spend, you can try thinking of value for each dollar (get bargain sales/careful shopping/looks for best deals).
Emergency funds
Having a cash reserve make a differnce between living as one planned. 3 to 6 months income for emergencies to avoid borrowing to pay unexpected bills.
Review and Sensitivity
Good plans have to be changeable. Sensitivity component to review:
1) Give up driving
2) Downsize of shelter
Chapter 5-6: Where will the Money come from?
1) Public pensions - OAS, GIS, CPP, QPP
2) Employment-based pension - defined benefit and defined contribution plans
3) Individual saving plans - RRSP, LIF, LIRA, LIRIF
4) Insurance-based pension - life policy
5) Tax-free savings account
Chapter 7: Managing Retirement Assets
One Basic Fact - If it goes wrong, there is less time to make up for losses
Assets management is really a form of risk control. As you grow older, the value of risk reduction becomes apparent. The reason - there is less time to make up losses if an investment sours. One cannot predict how any stock or even any sector may perform in a certain time period, so diversification among many stocks, sectors, and assets types is essential. A well-diversified portfolio may have stocks, bonds, and perhaps some real estate. As well, the investor has to be aware of tax issues that affect cash flow.
Chapter 8: What are you going to do with all those years?
Retirement at any age requires 3 things - 3M
1) Money - enough of it
2) Motive - a reason for retiring; and
3) Meaning - a sense of fulfillment in the time away from work
Useful retirement plan should be:
1) Fulfilling - you need a desire to do things and a plan to do them in succession as you age
2) Affordable - a life of cruising works only if there is a budget to support it
3) Engaging - the retirement plan should provide a way to make meaningful use of the free time you will have on your hands
4) Adaptable - if one plan does not work out, there should be another to take its place
Another option is to live outside Canada.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Rags to Retirement
Rags to Retirement - Gail Liberman and Alan Lavine
Stories from people who retired well on much less than you'd think!
1. Living it Up South of the Border - The retired couple moved to Mexico. It is a new language and a new culture but they can be just themselves. The cost of living is cheaper but there are some other challenges. The lifestyle has improved with less money. Few things to consider:
i) If possible, learn the language before you move
ii) Understand the tax situation of the country
iii) Evaluate the climate and activities of the area
iv) Research how widespread crime is
v) Evaluate a country's health care system
Other criteria to pick a place to retire:
i) weather
ii) cost of living
iii) affordable housing
iv) cultural programs
v) health care
vi) health care
vii) leisure
viii) pollution
ix) crime
x) transportation
xi) political stability
xii) health hazards
xiii) access to technology
2. Another one living in a boat as owning a house is too expensive
3. Another bachelor lived in Florida. He lived within his means and never run up a credit card. He does not drive and take public transportation. He lives in federally subsidized housing, restricted to senior citizens on limited income.
4. To prepare for retirement, it is important to shift to low-risk investments that are sure to pay you monthly income. Low risk options to consider:
i) Treasury securities
ii) Bank deposits
iii) Money market mutual fund
iv) Short-term government bonds and bond funds
v) Insured Municipal bonds
vi) Fixed annuities
5. Another couple live in RV and get the money for retirement by selling their house. They paid cash for their truck and trailer, they have no debt.
6. Always buy a house and don't rent.
7. The younger you are when you start planning for your retirement, the more money you'll have and the earlier you can retire. Those who are motivated, who apply good discipline to savings. They can retire young. They have not given up work entirely. They do little work they choose. They have more free time to manage their investment and they believe bear market happen every 5 years on average. They avoid difficult bear market and money still grows. They try to stay in good health, getting in at least two hours of physical activity daily. They goal to find the city to live is a city of less than 50,000 people that was clean and that had low crime and no snow. They wanted a good public library, discount movie theaters, bowling, tennis, hiking, cultural activities, and beautiful scenery. They also aimed to be relatively close to a large city.
"One huge mistake people make is they spend an inordinate amount of time figuring how much money they're going to need," says retirement planning expert John F. Wasik. "You can make one or two decisions to make it affordable at an earlier age - like relocate your home"
8. Getting good health
i) Don't smoke
ii) Don't drink alcohol excessively
iii) Keep your body weight, lose the extra weight
iv) Exercise regularly
v) Brush and floss your teeth daily
vi) Get an annual physical check-up
vii) Use sun block
viii) Check out services at dental and medical schools
ix) Buy generic drugs
x) Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, as well as foods that are high in fiber
xi) Avoid eating junk food that is high in fat and cholesterol
xii) Get a good night's sleep
xiii) Be spiritual healthy too
SUMMARY
1. Find a cheaper way to live - sailboat, RV, lower cost countries
2. Cut your medical expenses - exercise and eat properly, or live in lower medical cost countries
3. Plan for your retirement at a young age - have longer time to save and grow your money
4. Obtain a job with great retirement and/or medical benefits
5. Set goals for yourself - have meaning
6. Become more social - getting together with friends and family is a cheap, yet extremely fulfilling form of entertainment
7. Taking advantage of free or low-cost sources of entertainment - Libraries, museums
8. Make the most of federal benefits to which you might be entitled - federal subsidized housing, social security, suplemental income
9. Do it yourself - repairs, meals, etc
10. As you near retirement, invest conservatively - not to lose money
11. Cut taxes as much as possible
12. Get rid of your car
13. Consider downsize your house or reverse mortgage - get extra money for retirement
14. Maintain a positive attitude - thinking postively can get you through the worst of times
Stories from people who retired well on much less than you'd think!
1. Living it Up South of the Border - The retired couple moved to Mexico. It is a new language and a new culture but they can be just themselves. The cost of living is cheaper but there are some other challenges. The lifestyle has improved with less money. Few things to consider:
i) If possible, learn the language before you move
ii) Understand the tax situation of the country
iii) Evaluate the climate and activities of the area
iv) Research how widespread crime is
v) Evaluate a country's health care system
Other criteria to pick a place to retire:
i) weather
ii) cost of living
iii) affordable housing
iv) cultural programs
v) health care
vi) health care
vii) leisure
viii) pollution
ix) crime
x) transportation
xi) political stability
xii) health hazards
xiii) access to technology
2. Another one living in a boat as owning a house is too expensive
3. Another bachelor lived in Florida. He lived within his means and never run up a credit card. He does not drive and take public transportation. He lives in federally subsidized housing, restricted to senior citizens on limited income.
4. To prepare for retirement, it is important to shift to low-risk investments that are sure to pay you monthly income. Low risk options to consider:
i) Treasury securities
ii) Bank deposits
iii) Money market mutual fund
iv) Short-term government bonds and bond funds
v) Insured Municipal bonds
vi) Fixed annuities
5. Another couple live in RV and get the money for retirement by selling their house. They paid cash for their truck and trailer, they have no debt.
6. Always buy a house and don't rent.
7. The younger you are when you start planning for your retirement, the more money you'll have and the earlier you can retire. Those who are motivated, who apply good discipline to savings. They can retire young. They have not given up work entirely. They do little work they choose. They have more free time to manage their investment and they believe bear market happen every 5 years on average. They avoid difficult bear market and money still grows. They try to stay in good health, getting in at least two hours of physical activity daily. They goal to find the city to live is a city of less than 50,000 people that was clean and that had low crime and no snow. They wanted a good public library, discount movie theaters, bowling, tennis, hiking, cultural activities, and beautiful scenery. They also aimed to be relatively close to a large city.
"One huge mistake people make is they spend an inordinate amount of time figuring how much money they're going to need," says retirement planning expert John F. Wasik. "You can make one or two decisions to make it affordable at an earlier age - like relocate your home"
8. Getting good health
i) Don't smoke
ii) Don't drink alcohol excessively
iii) Keep your body weight, lose the extra weight
iv) Exercise regularly
v) Brush and floss your teeth daily
vi) Get an annual physical check-up
vii) Use sun block
viii) Check out services at dental and medical schools
ix) Buy generic drugs
x) Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, as well as foods that are high in fiber
xi) Avoid eating junk food that is high in fat and cholesterol
xii) Get a good night's sleep
xiii) Be spiritual healthy too
SUMMARY
1. Find a cheaper way to live - sailboat, RV, lower cost countries
2. Cut your medical expenses - exercise and eat properly, or live in lower medical cost countries
3. Plan for your retirement at a young age - have longer time to save and grow your money
4. Obtain a job with great retirement and/or medical benefits
5. Set goals for yourself - have meaning
6. Become more social - getting together with friends and family is a cheap, yet extremely fulfilling form of entertainment
7. Taking advantage of free or low-cost sources of entertainment - Libraries, museums
8. Make the most of federal benefits to which you might be entitled - federal subsidized housing, social security, suplemental income
9. Do it yourself - repairs, meals, etc
10. As you near retirement, invest conservatively - not to lose money
11. Cut taxes as much as possible
12. Get rid of your car
13. Consider downsize your house or reverse mortgage - get extra money for retirement
14. Maintain a positive attitude - thinking postively can get you through the worst of times
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