crylam

A week or so ago I noted the reasons why I blog. That made me think of all the very good people who are writing and publishing and freely available on the Internet. The ones I read on a regular basis are listed on the right sidebar. I encourage you to check them out if you haven't already done so. Every 8-9 months I update that roll call, adding some fresh ones, while removing those that no longer seem to be the best use of my time, or the blogger has stopped posting fresh content regularly. I decided it was time to search for some fresh choices for both you and me. Here is a list that may help you  discover some new blogs to add to your personal must-read list. Don't be surprised if some of these show up on my blog list, too.  I have grouped them by category to make it a bit easier. I hope you find them worthy of your consideration. Focus on Financial Iss ues The Retirement Cafe The Retirement Manifesto The Squared Away Blog Our Next Life A Wealth of Common Sense Focus on Li...

That is a good question. More than seven years after beginning all this, I'm don't have a simple answer. Certainly, it is satisfying to see something I have written on the Internet and pulled up during a Google search. Those small monthly checks from Amazon for selling a few books or getting clicks on the ads that flow down both sidebars is nice. They don't pay for more than some legal pads, printer ink, or downloaded photos. But, there is some validation there. I guess there are a few parts to the answer of why I keep doing this. First is my need to write. A blog gives me a reason. I know myself well enough to know I don't have the patience or drive to write a novel or even a nonfiction book. A long time friend of mine has written two mystery novels, both of which I bought and enjoy. It has been a joy to watch his writing improve and his lifelong dream become fulfilled. It was hard, stressful work for him. That path is not for me. Six to seven hundred words a few times...

Closing in on 2.5 million views, Satisfying Retirement appears to have filled a need in the crowded retirement preparation field. June will mark our 7th anniversary, probably 5 or 6 years longer than I expected when I first started. Writing 650 words every 3 or 4 days is actually not as difficult as I thought it might be. Just keeping my eyes open, writing about life as I live it, and having the best blog readers in the world to keep me honest and on target means I rarely struggle to find something to write about. That said, there are five things I couldn't blog without. I haven't put them in order of importance, just trust me that each one keeps me here. A good spellchecker . If I am not the worst speller you have ever met, I am certainly on the team. My hidden secret? Every sentence contains at least one mistake. Typing is a two finger hunt and peck, though after all this time I am pretty quick. But accuracy is not my strong suit. Most readers would have given up long ago if...

Retirement is a poor word to describe what happens to many of us after our working days are over. It implies ceasing to do much of value, withdrawing, concluding something. It means the end of something but not the beginning of something else. It suggests leaving an active life behind for one of leisure. While that depiction of retirement was probably a better fit for earlier generations, today nothing could be further from the truth. With a decent commitment to healthy living, using our financial resources wisely, and filling our days with activities that motivate and please us, this stage of life can easily last twenty or even thirty years. That is much too long for us to be content with simply filling our days with golf or reading, TV, naps, and having dinner at 4pm! Along with everyone else who has been blogging, writing books, producing TV shows, or otherwise being involved with this stage of life, I have been searching for a word to replace retirement. Retread, reboot, ...

As I look ahead to the future of Satisfying Retirement for the rest of this year and beyond, I wonder what steps I should take next. Six years is a long time for a blog to exist. But, readership and comments tell me there remains an interest in what is on these pages. What I don't want to happen is that Satisfying Retirement becomes boring, uninteresting, or stale. With a staff of one (and occasional input from my wife), it is important I am constantly open to new ideas that don't just come from me. What to write about, products or services that I could offer that would fill a need, changes in the look of the blog...all the building blocks of a blog that is growing and not just marking time. These are the types of questions that keep me reading books and web sites to help me stay fresh. Of course, the best source of information is you, the reader. You know what you want when you click over to this blog. You know what you like and maybe some things you don't like. So,...