Retirement

Have you ever watched a good basketball player shoot a free throw? They bounce the ball a couple of times and line up the shot. Then, whoosh! The ball sails through the air and drops through the rim with nothing but net. It’s a beautiful sight to see. A perfect trajectory!

Wouldn't it be nice to have more money? To be able to put a little bit in your savings account? This might be possible for you if you make some changes to reduce your living expenses.

How many of you took a vacation this summer? I certainly did.

But I wonder, would you have gone on vacation if you thought you might run out of money before it was over? I don't think I would have. That would be kind of crazy.

Picture this—it's Friday afternoon, your work is done, and you have the weekend ahead of you. But what makes this weekend different than any other weekend is the two-week vacation following it. You wish your colleagues well, they express similar thoughts, and you head toward freedom.

Of course, you're excited! Travel, new experiences, time away from the mundane, and time to recharge.

I decided to sell my motorcycle the other day.

There wasn't anything wrong with it.   It was a beautiful bike and it was in really good shape. It had low miles and ran well. The reason I sold it was because it didn't suit my needs anymore.

I bought the bike back in 2005 and a lot has changed since then. The biggest change was that I am now in my 50s. When I bought it I was in my 30s. That bike was perfect for the younger man I used to be but somehow it wasn't quite right for the more ‘mature' man I had become.

The stock market did great last year.  The Dow was up 13.4%; the S&P gained 9.5%; and the Nasdaq was up 7.5%,  according to CNN Money.

But do you remember how things started?

2016 began with the worst five-day start to a year ever.   It was scary. The Dow dived 1,079 points in the first week of 2016 and it wasn't till March that things began to calm down.

It seems simple – Hire an attorney, sign the appropriate paper work, and after you die, your assets will go to whoever you choose, right?

But what if things don't get distributed the way you directed?   Is it actually possible to work with an attorney, draw up a will, and still have your possessions go to the wrong people?

The sad truth is that this happens far more often than you might imagine.

Do any of you feel like The Baby Boomers are getting a bad rap these days?  

It seems like every day we are bombarded by negative articles and news stories about Boomers and money.  

W e are told that Boomers haven't saved enough.  

They need to get serious about retirement. Baby Boomers are simply not being responsible with their finances. It's enough to give you a complex.

As adults, we know the importance of saving for retirement. It's really easy. Just set up an automatic withdrawal from each month's paycheck and direct it into a retirement account. What becomes trickier is the amount we should be saving and how it should be invested.

But what happens as we enter retirement? We've been saving money our entire lives. In theory, we know what's needed–simply rely on savings, Social Security, and if we have one, a pension.