Thinking About Early Retirement? 10-Minute Quiz Determines Your Readiness
(ARA) - If you've delayed planning for retirement because it makes you feel a) old or b) financially inept, think again. With a little foresight, you could be out there enjoying life like other people -- maybe even before you reach the so-called "retirement age." Like many people in the prime of life, it's not unusual to think of retirement as such a distant idea that you avoid saving for it until next week, next year, next job. After all, who's got time to think about the "R" word? In reality, it's never too late, or too early, to start planning for retirement. Retirement used to be defined as what a person was no longer doing. More and more, however, retirement has come to mean what a person is can do.
Choosing a second career. Traveling to see the world. Volunteering in the community. Taking on a new hobby. Taking care of grandchildren.
If Mondays find you heading for the highway to work, but you'd rather be heading for the golf course to play, it might be time to consider your financial future -- even if you're among the three out of four Americans who hate financial planning. "You don't need to be a financial wizard to start thinking about early retirement," says Randy Schuldt, vice president with IHateFinancialPlanning.com, a Web site devoted to the 75 percent of Americans who hate financial planning. "With some simple steps, you can take control of your financial future before it starts controlling your dreams." To help better understand what's involved in retirement planning, IHateFinancialPlanning.com has developed a 10-minute quiz -- an early retirement calculator of sorts -- that will help determine your state of readiness. If your score points to a lifetime of enduring the daily grind, a visit to IHateFinancialPlanning.com or a meeting with a financial planner might help perk up your financial future. IHateFinancialPlanning.Com Early Retirement Readiness Calculator
- I dream about my retirement
- All of the time
- Only when work drives me nuts
- None of the time
- I know exactly what I want to do when I retire
- Yes -- in fact I've identified the date
- Too many choices to decide
- No -- I'll be too old anyway
- IRA stands for
- Individual Retirement Account
- Irish Republican Army
- IRA -- you mean my cousin Ira?
- I regularly contribute to my 401(k) at work
- At the maximum amount of money allowed
- As much as I can afford
- Never
- I expect my health insurance costs to decrease as I get older
- False
- I'm not planning on getting older
- True
- If I pay off my mortgage before I retire I will be able to
- Pocket up to $250,000 in tax-free profit on the sale of my home
- Barely scrape by on my other bills
- Guffaw loudly because only rich people can afford to do that
- I can phase into retirement if I
- Plan ahead for big ticket items that might tempt me to draw on investments too soon
- Take a one month leave from my current job to test the waters
- Just up and quit
- The cost of inflation
- Is expected to rise from 2 to 4 percent per year
- Is always changing
- Will have no effect on retirement plans
- Is expected to rise from 2 to 4 percent per year
- The nation's Social Security program
- Will eventually run out of money
- Will cover only some of my retirement costs
- Will always be there for me, just like it was for my parents
- Will eventually run out of money
- Disability income insurance is
- A good idea, since there's a 42 percent chance I'll become disabled between the ages of 30 and 50
- Something you should buy if you have a disability
- Only for old people
- A fixed-rate annuity is
- A contract with a life insurance company designed to provide for a regular stream of payments at a later date
- Too complicated for me to worry about
- Considered to be a risky investment
- The key to early retirement is
- Having a retirement goal
- Having a job with a good retirement plan
- Winning the lottery
- Having a retirement goal
Give yourself 3 points for every "A" answer; 2 points for every "B" answer; 1 point for every "C" answer.
36 points: Kiss work goodbye? You may be headed straight for the beach.
We'd tell you to pack suntan lotion for when you leave, but then, you've probably already planned that, too.
25 to 35 or more points: So near, yet so far. While you may have a good understanding of what a retirement plan needs to include, it's time to put your ideas into action. Check out IHateFinancialPlanning.com for some easy to understand, non-intimidating ways to fill the gaps of your plan.
16 to 24 points: Minimum effort may not get you where you want to go. Your plans could still use some fleshing out. You may want to consider talking with a professional to help solidify your dreams. Keep your retirement goals in mind and get a financial plan that will keep you headed in the right direction. 12 to 15 points: Early retirement, or any kind of retirement, might not be in your future.
Get thee to a financial professional! If the mere thought of it makes you queasy, at least do this: mark your calendar for Feb. 3-10. That's the official celebration of I Hate Financial Planning Awareness Week, a week dedicated to helping people who hate financial planning learn how to deal with money matters and how to manage and invest money. You'll find more information and ways to cope at IHateFinancialPlanning.com. It even has an on-line panic button that you can push to get out your financial frustrations..
Courtesy ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com; e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information, contact Maclaren Latta, Carmichael Lynch Spong, (612) 375-8570, mlatta@clynch.com or Stephen Dupont, Carmichael Lynch Spong, (612) 375-8525, sdupont@clynch.com. About IHateFinancialPlanning.com IHateFinancialPlanning.com is a Web site that's already helped more than 1.5 million people who hate financial planning make sense of their personal finances through fun, friendly, easy-to-understand content and financial planning tools. The Web site was developed by ReliaStar Financial Corp., a member of the ING Group. About ING Group ING Group is a global financial institution active in the fields of insurance, banking and asset management, with more than 100,000 employees in 65 countries. ING provides a full range of integrated financial services for its clients through a variety of distribution channels. In the United States, ING's product and service portfolio includes banking, fixed and variable annuities, investment management, life insurance, mutual funds, personal finance education seminars, and trust services. For employers, ING businesses also offer a full range of retirement and other worksite benefits, including group insurance products. For more information, visit www.ing-usa.com. Securities available through PrimeVest Financial Services, Inc., Member NASD/SIPC. Carmichael Lynch Spong is not affiliated with PrimeVest Financial Services, INC. and is not a member of the ING Group.Budgeting
Budgeting involves the planned allocation of funds to various departments in a business organization. Budgeting is often done by enterprises on a periodic basis. In simpler terms, it means planning for and estimating the financial position of an organization in a given time period.
The process of budgeting is very basic. Budgeting helps keep track of the health of a business, be it big or small. An individual with a basic income can also plan his budget.
A simple rule for making a financial statement is keeping the accounts very simple. The expenses can be noted on a day-to-day basis; these expenses can be clubbed under one subcategory.
The usefulness of a budget depends on the reliability of the information used to create it. Unrealistic estimates of prices, yields, or input quantities would lessen the accuracy of the budget and could possibly lead to a faulty financial decision.
The process of budgeting can help make sound management...
Financial planning > Budgeting
An Internet Radio Talk Show with a Colonial Twist
An internet radio station has teamed up with a local financial planner to launch a new radio talk show named "Poor Richard's Shoebox (C)." Voice America Radio (Tempe, AZ) is working with author Joseph F. Dunphy M.B.A. to produce a pilot, one-hour internet radio show focusing on taxes and personal finances.???? The title reflects two key elements of the show. "Poor Richard" is a reference to Benjamin Franklin, whose autobiography was read carefully by many immigrants seeking a better life in America. The show uses examples from Franklin's work to reinforce basic principles.
The "shoebox" refers to the phenomenon of harried taxpayers, who come into offices of financial professionals carrying "shoeboxes" (or their equivalent) of records in disarray, often at the height of the tax season. Result: they are charged "nuisance fees" for the work of getting organized.???? The show aims to help people find simple, inexpensive ways to avoid these problems. It also helps to point out new...
An Internet Radio Talk Show with a Colonial Twist
Financial planning > An Internet Radio Talk Show with a Colonial Twist
Financial Planners Get More Clients With New Certification
Financial planners are getting new clients from a seemingly unlikely market sector:
U.S. federal government employees.
"Federal employee benefits programs are very complicated. Only the best trained financial planners are able to service this market," says Judy Snow, founder of Federal Employee Benefits Specialist, Inc. (FEBSI) (http://www.FEBSI.com) and developer of the Certified Federal Employee Benefits Specialist (CFEBS) training and certification program.
The CFEBS program equips financial planners, insurance agents, accountants, investment advisors, stock brokers, tax preparers, and other professionals with a thorough understanding of federal employee benefits and associated retirement planning. "Achieving CFEBS certification helps financial planners to learn the ins and outs of these benefits programs and to reach federal employees who are in need of quality financial planning services," Snow explained.
Financial planning > Financial Planners Get More Clients With New Certification
The Wright Place- Finances
Women have a love/hate relationship with money. Most of us do not enjoy dealing with it, yet we know not having finances under control will cause our entire family to suffer. A recent guest on the show Karen Franks, explained how important your credit is and how you should check on it often. ?At least twice a year", says Karen Franks. Checking our credit is one important proactive way we can make sure we are in good financial shape.
She also mentioned that many married women have better credit score than their husbands, even if they do not make as much. When another show guest, Dan Contreras talked about financial planning, he stressed using a professional. ?Don't rely on hearsay, get some real understanding about your situation."
And Linda
Hollander the author or Bags to Riches says "Mentors are the fast track to success". Find someone who has reached the same financial goals you want to reach and then do what they did. This simple technique works even if your...
Financial planning > The Wright Place- Finances
Take Responsible For Our Condition
Today I Am Claiming My ProsperityI can not help but to think about Malachi 3:8 - 10. The instructions to Finances were written a long time ago; and I do realize this is a HOT subject to place in print but I believe this with all my Heart, Mind, and Soul.If Financial Problems are to be overcomed, I ( maybe others) must accept that in relieving the condition itlies within all of us; to make a change today, not tomorrow.Every one of us must face reality and take responsibility for our condition. If we choose to deny responsibility and blame others for it, the prospect of Financial release is only a DREAM.No, I am not a Certified Financial Planner but I would like to share some very vital lessons that was shared with me; and I myself am learning from them. I was not given the opportunity in High School to take a course in Financial Planning, so I (maybe others) can understand why when I (maybe others) entered the work force without a plan.Are you keeping track of where your money goes from...
Take Responsible For Our Condition
Financial planning > Take Responsible For Our Condition
Twenty One Percent of People Who Retire Are Forced Back to Work From Financial Need Within Five Years of Retirement
According to financial author and retirement planning expert Jim Trippon, "Twenty One Percent of people who retire are forced back to work from financial need within five years of retirement."
In conducting research for his retirement planning book How Millionaires Stay Rich Forever, Trippon identified nine causes for post-retirement financial problems and offers solutions. "Many people assume that the only thing that affects their retirement security is their choice of investments." says Trippon. "In fact there are nine pitfalls to watch out for and investing is only one of them." Take for example the impact of post-retirement lawsuits like the Moldon case, which is told in Trippons new book. (Case # A344462 Nevada State District Court ? Clark County, Nevada -
Department III)Billionaire Carl Icahn wants to build a luxury casino tower on retiree Paul Moldon's rental property in Las Vegas. The City of Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency seized the prime property, which is...
Financial planning > Twenty One Percent of People Who Retire Are Forced Back to Work From Financial Need Within Five Years of Retirement
John W. Crane Earns Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) Designation
John W. Crane of First Financial Group has earned the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) professional designation from The American College, Bryn Mawr, PA.Candidates for the ChFC designation must complete a minimum of eight courses and 16 hours of supervised examinations.
Over 40,000 individuals have been awarded the ChFC designation since its inception in 1982.???The ChFC program focuses on the complete financial planning process as an organized way to collect and analyze information on a client's total financial situation.
ChFCs can identify and establish specific financial goals and then formulate, implement and monitor a comprehensive plan to achieve those goals.
Individuals who earn a ChFC can provide expert advice on a broad range of financial topics including financial planning, asset accumulation and estate planning, income taxation and planning, life and health insurance, business taxation and planning, investments and retirement planning.???John...
Financial planning > John W. Crane Earns Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) Designation
Financial planning
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