crylam

I have never met a retiree who is trying to "fail" at having a satisfying retirement . By fail, I mean spending time worrying instead of enjoying, stagnating instead of experiencing, and second-guessing major decisions. We expect retirement to be the payoff for years of working, commuting, saving, and delayed gratification. Does it always work that way? For too many of us the answer is, "No."  I believe there are five definite traits and decisions that separate the truly "successful" retirees from the rest of us. While things would run more smoothly if we exhibited these attributes well before the end of our full time working life,   the good news is that any of us can improve the quality of our retirement journey by adopting them now. 1) See retirement as a beginning not an ending. For many of us, what we do for a living defines us. Our job or career controls how we think of and describe ourselves. "What do you do" is the first question virtuall...

This is a guest post from Kendal Perez that first ran four years ago. The information remains relevant and helpful as our retirement planning must include our beloved pets. Please add fresh comments to the end of the post if this helps you. According to a recent article in USA Today, Americans spent over $50 billion on their pets last year, up from $10.1 billion just four years earlier. That's a lot of money for Max or Fluffy, but still nothing compared to the unconditional love they shell out for you every day. As the proud owner of two Labrador-Australian Shepard mixes, I'm no stranger to the rising cost of pet care. In addition to frequent exercise and annual check-ups, my husband and I save hundreds of dollars on pet care by adopting the following savvy strategies. 1. Create an Emergency Fund There are at least nine reasons for an emergency fund, according to Kiplinger, including the ability to offset a costly vet bill should your beloved animal need expensive treatmen...