It’s no surprise that many seniors would much prefer living in their own homes as opposed to facility care. Family members who fully understand the benefits associated with aging in place—a sense of independence, better health outcomes, and the comfort home can provide—may consider an in-home caregiver for their elderly loved one. Check out our recent infographic and see some tips on how to choose the right caregiver for your loved one. [Read more…]
Choosing the Right In-Home Caregiver For You
According to an AARP survey, about 90 percent of American seniors want to live in their own homes as long as possible. Known as “aging in place,” it’s no surprise that most seniors would much prefer living in their own homes as opposed to facility care. Unfortunately, physical or cognitive issues can often make this a difficult option.
Family members who fully understand the benefits associated with aging in place—a sense of independence, better health outcomes, and the comfort that only “home” can provide—may consider an in-home caregiver for their elderly loved one.
Your loved one might benefit from an in-home caregiver for medical needs as well as with assistance in light housekeeping, routine errands, and other daily living activities. Once you have made the decision to hire a caregiver, it is important that you understand how to choose the best in-home caregiver for your elderly loved one. [Read more…]
Preparing Your Business for After You’re Gone
If you have a business, you have likely thought about what would happen to your business after your death. A well-run, well-managed family business could potentially provide for your loved ones long after you are gone. Unfortunately, according to the Family Business Institute, less than one-third of all businesses survive into the second generation. The reason for this is largely due to a failure to plan for the future on the part of the owner of the business. Business succession planning is like writing an estate plan for your business. Few people are enthusiastic about estate planning, but most adults do recognize the wisdom in doing so.
If you have poured your time and energy into your business, you want to make sure it succeeds you. What you don’t want is your death to cause infighting among family members, and you certainly don’t want your business to collapse or end up in liquidation. In a best-case scenario, you will have planned so thoroughly for your business succession that every family member will know his or her role in the business, and the business will continue, as strong as ever. [Read more…]
Great Part-Time Jobs in Retirement
You earn your retirement—getting to that goal where you can leave the daily grind and focus on enjoying your senior years takes hard work and planning. But retirement isn’t always devoid of employment.
Maybe it’s a matter of getting more money to enjoy traveling while in retirement. Perhaps your long-time employer didn’t offer the greatest retirement contributions, necessitating a little supplementary income. Or you could just be bored and miss doing something outside of the house with your energy or talents!
Retired? Go Back to School!
Maybe the title of this post made you scoff. You’re retired. Or maybe you scoffed because not only are you retired, but how would paying large tuition bills fit into your fixed income retirement? According to an article from CNBC, “More Retirees Are Going Back to School. Here’s How You Can, Too,” there is an upward trend in retirees continuing their education as well as programs designed to promote lifelong learning through affordable pricing.
One of the programs designed to support lifelong learning is the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), which receives funding through the Bernard Osher Foundation. It consists of 124 lifelong learning programs through colleges and university across the US and has at least one location in every state including the District of Columbia (Osherfoundation.org). One of these locations is Berkshire Community College. One couple, Barbara and Ed Lane, have found fulfillment in attending Berkshire’s OLLI program. As Barbara shares in the CNBC article, she has pursued local classes for older adults and she now sits on the board for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College. Her husband attained his master’s in business administration from there and now teaches at other colleges as a finance and economics adjunct professor.
Book Lovers Unite! Check Out These Books on Retirement
If you’re a book lover like me, then reading is something you consistently take great joy in. I often don’t go anywhere without a book in tow since you can never predict when the opportunity to read may arise. I’ve spent many a Sunday consuming novels from start to finish only stopping to blink, refill my water bottle, and pour more lady gray tea while stirring in a dollop of local Vermont honey. That’s why, when it comes to retirement advice, one great way to prepare yourself is to read about it. I found two lists of “must-read” retirement books that had helpful and interesting reads based on what you might be looking for. The first list of books comes from Barnes and Noble and the second list from Financial Analyst Insider. I won’t mention each book from the lists; instead, I filtered them out, looked up the ratings for each book I selected, and did a little research on the authors, but I encourage you to check out both full lists (Barnes and Noble; Financial Analyst Insider).
Best Places to Have a Second Home in Retirement
Whether you’re retired or simply planning ahead for the day you no longer have to work, one investment that’s worth looking into is a second or vacation home. After a lifetime of working, it’s worth having a getaway that you and your family can enjoy. Plus, it also serves as something you can pass down to the rest of your family after you’re gone.
Adding a second home can double as a good property investment in a desirable or up-and-coming area. Give these attractive locales consideration if you’re thinking about adding a getaway house to your assets:
Benefits of Making a Bucket List
In 2007, the movie The Bucket List was a big hit, tapping into the universal feeling of getting the most out of life, even if you think you’re too old to do all the things you’ve dreamed of doing. And while the movie itself may have faded somewhat from public consciousness, the idea of writing down all the things you’ve never gotten around to experiencing and then setting your mind to doing so is a powerful one that has stuck with many of us.
Using Apps to Save Money for Retirement
We are becoming more and more tied to our phones as they become increasingly useful in our lives. We can use them for communication, banking, photographing, taking notes, keeping our car insurance ID cards, and more. While you may be a little wary of how entwined in our lives and smartphones are becoming, you shouldn’t count them out. There are many useful purposes phones can serve and one you might consider, especially if you are struggling to save for retirement, are budgeting and savings apps.
It is a commonly known fact that the state of retirement is not looking good for Americans, most have under saved. If you want to read up on some stats, check out this article from The Street. Saving is hard and so is planning for retirement. But as mentioned, your smartphone might be the tool you need to start getting ahead in savings. Here some apps you might consider using:
Thinking Outside the Box: What to Do in Retirement
Many retirement blog posts these days talk about the dire situation that America is in regarding retirement. According to a survey conducted by Barron’s:
- 27% of Americans (not retired) have borrowed against their workplace retirement plan
- 27% of have accepted penalties to take money out.
- 30% of millennials say their student loans are preventing them from saving for retirement
- The 45-year-old Gen Xer who wants to retire at 64, has $166,328 saved and needs to save $798,000 more over the next 19 years
- 47% of Boomers are full of regret for not saving sooner
- and so on
In an article we wrote recently, we discussed the emotional aspect of retiring early, and how when it comes time to retire, losing the structure and growth you experience from working can be an uncomfortable thought. One woman realized that when she was ready to retire early, she struggled because a lot of her self-worth was tied to being a worker. So, instead of focusing on the gloom and doom of retirement, today we want to share about some ideas for what you can do during retirement whether you are retiring early or later in life, so as not to lose the fulfilment that work brought.
