2young2retireUK

Welcome to the 2young2retire UK blog

What’s Next?

What comes to your mind when you think about retirement?  Endless days by the pool, on the beach or golf course?  Catching up on your reading and hobbies?  Travel?  Rekindling relationships you've let languish?

We're with you.  Nothing wrong with these, as far as they go.  For most healthy people in their 50s and 60s, that's about 6-18 months.  What then?  We want more out of life in the 20+ years of good health ahead.  Something to live for, like work we enjoy, at a pace we choose.  Like community service on a whole new level of commitment.  Maybe becoming a student again.

2young2retire teleclasses and workshops are a place where you get to explore what's possible for you when you realize how much time lies ahead.  Based on Too Young to Retire: 101 Ways to Start the Rest of Your Life (Plume 2004) by Marika and Howard Stone, our curriculum covers:

► Work that matters (paid or not)
► Being your own boss (you can do it!)
► Community activism (it's about time!)
► Money control (at last)
► Wellness plan (quit stalling now!)
► Intelligent travel (why to go where)

You'll get together with others eager to explore these issues, in a conversation led by a 2young2retire facilitator [that's me, Ann Harrison].

Click here for course dates...

Consider Your Accumulated Experiences As a Retirement Asset by Don Seibert

In thinking about the possibility of retiring, we all must, at some time or another, add up our accumulated savings, 401K investments, company pensions, potential social security checks, etc to try to plan a retirement lifestyle that's suitable for us. We have all been through that process and, given the state of the economy right now, may have determined that retirement is more of a future dream than a pending reality.

In doing this 'asset review' no accountant or planner that I know of actually considers one of your most important assets! They cannot possible know how many skills or how much valuable experience, talent, and knowledge you have accumulated in your life until now. By the time they are "Over 50", most of us has had a wealth of experience, whether in a job, a profession, a hobby, a sport or just in the regular family life that we have enjoyed.

It may be time now to begin to cash in on your accumulated experience. Many people have been able to carve out very fun and rewarding second careers just by leveraging on the skills, talents and knowledge that they have between their ears! And with the global advances of the Internet, it doesn't really matter just how particular or specialized a niche that your expertise is in.

If you were to simply take a pencil and paper and a few minutes, I'll bet that you could list out 20-25 experiences that you have had that other people could learn or benefit from. Whether it's dealing with a difficult disease with a member of your family or a technique or procedure that you learned in your employment, knowledge of these things and how to make the best of them can be truly beneficial to other people. If fact, if you could find a way to capture and transfer this information to others, they will be happy to pay you for your time and trouble!

It won't cost you a thing to take this little inventory and to spend some time thinking of ways that you could write a book (e-book or hard bound), create a video or CD, or perhaps build a website on your special topic. Many thousands of people are doing just that today and are earning from $1,000 to $30,000 per month by simply leveraging their experience and knowledge.

You know, we can be mesmerized by all of the 24/7 bad news coverage and we can listen to the 'talking heads' prophets of gloom on the Television and in the press - or - we can take it upon ourselves to actually do something positive for ourself! This is not dependent on any government bailout program or handout or even on our ability to raise money to start a company. You already have the most important ingredient for your success - right between your ears! Now go put that to use!

Resources: Don Seibert is a retired business executive who, as an Expert Author, writes timely articles and books on many issues concerning accumulated knowledge. Having retired three times, he now writes a blog concerning this topic. Visit the site for a complete discussion of Retirement Income Options

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Seibert

Make time for an everyday adventure

Two of the potential pitfalls of the 'Routine' stage of retirement are becoming set in your ways by having too rigid a routine and leaving no time or scope for fun and spontaneity in your life. 

With that in mind, here are my top ten ideas for bringing more everyday 'adventures' into your life:

1.  Start by being open to new ideas and opportunities.  Look out for them.  Write them down in a diary or journal so that they don't evaporate into the ether.

2.  Do your very best to try something new every day... something small like trying a new drink or taking a different route home, or something bigger like jumping out of a plane or arranging a house swap with someone from another country.

3.  The next time you're arranging a day out, ask someone else to plan it for you.  Let them have control and just go with the flow. 

4.  For even more of an adventure, ask your grandkids to plan your day out with them. Let them be the leaders and make the decisions.  The only time you're allowed to step in is if things get dangerous!  See the world through their eyes...

5.  Let something that you 'should' or are 'supposed to' do go and do something unexpected instead... Do the things no-one expects you to do! If you're always the one who gets up early and makes sure everything is ship-shape, stay in bed all morning and let them sort themselves out!  If you're always the sensible one, suggest something crazy for a change.  If you're used to luxury hotels, try a camping trip.  Try a different way of being!

6.  Go out and get purposefully lost. Just drive around with no destination in mind or follow a road until it ends.  See where you end up.  I KNOW I don't need to tell you this, but I'm just covering myself: Obviously you need to be more careful and have a bit of common sense about this one - you don't want to end up in a neighbourhood that's notorious for its drug deals, gang clashes and drive-by shootings!

7.  Treat your city or town like a visitor would. Go to a different park, cafe, residential area or shopping centre. Go to that museum you haven't been to since the kids were small.  See what's new.  See who's there. Explore. See things from a different angle.  (Again, exercise a bit of common sense and do your due diligence before visiting different parks and residential areas!)

8.  Choose one of your senses and find something new to intrigue it - a piece of music by a new-to-you composer or artist.  A just-released perfume or aftershave.  A type of food that you've never eaten before.  A film that you never would have chosen, normally.  Next day, choose another sense to indulge...

9.  Shake up the order in which you do things.  If you usually start off your shower by washing your hair, wash your feet instead!  Change your routine.  Clean your teeth with the other hand.  Shop at a different supermarket or shop your usual supermarket in reverse order.  Have your hair done/cut at a different salon or barber.

10.  If you're always in the habit of going places with another person in tow, go somewhere alone instead. Take a day trip and make the effort to meet some new people whilst you're out.  Go to the cinema or for a meal by yourself.  If that feels like too big a step, just go to a coffee shop but make eye contact with people and smile.

What are your best ideas for shaking things up and introducing more fun and spontaneity into your life?  Inspire us by leaving your comments below...

What are you waiting for?

First you were waiting until you were bigger/older

Then you were waiting until you finished school/college/ university

Then you were waiting until you got your first job

Then you were waiting until your career was established

Then you were waiting until you met the right person 

Then you were waiting until after the wedding   

Then you were waiting until the kids were off your hands

Then you were waiting until you'd built up your savings/retirement fund

Then you were waiting until you retired

What are you waiting for now?

And how much longer can you keep putting it off?

Five questions to ask your financial adviser

Martin Bamford is an Independent Financial Advisor here in the UK who is often quoted in the financial press.  In this article, he lists 5 important questions you can ask a new or existing financial adviser to help you gauge if their advice is any good or not.  (The questions should work equally well wherever you live in the world.)

You might read books, listen to the experts on the radio or chat to your buddy on the golf course. The personal finance editor of your weekend paper could have a valid opinion or your accountant might steer you in a certain direction.

Of course none of this is really investment advice. The sources described above would be better described as information or possibly guidance.

Investment advice can only come from a suitably qualified and authorised individual who fully understands your financial goals and objectives before making specific recommendations.

Assuming this is the sort of investment advice you are getting (or plan to get in the future) how can you know if it is any good?

What separates excellent investment advice from the mediocre, rubbish or downright dangerous?

Here are five important questions you can ask your investment adviser to find out if what they have on offer is any good. These questions are equally as valid if you are engaging with a new adviser or if you want to put your existing adviser through their paces.

So, grab a notepad and pen, pick up the phone (or arrange a meeting) and pose the following questions.

1 - What is your investment advice process?

The delivery of consistently good investment advice requires the application of a robust investment advice process. Without such a process, the advice you receive will be subject to the whims of your adviser on that particular day.

The existence of such a process reduces the risk that you will be exposed to the latest investment fad, simply because it is new, hip and trendy on the day you seek advice.

Receiving investment advice from an adviser working to a robust advice process does not mean the outcome from the process will be generic or any less valuable. In fact, the outcome from the process should differ for every investor. It is the process itself that should be rigid, to ensure that the way in which investment advice is delivered is entirely consistent.

2 - What is your investment philosophy?

Your investment adviser should have a written investment philosophy. This document sums up his or her beliefs about investing money. It should be a set of investment rules about which your adviser feels passionately.

There are plenty of differing views when it comes to investing money. Some advisers will claim certain approaches are superior to others. There are usually strong counter-arguments to every academically 'proven' approach towards investing money.

What really matters is that your investment adviser has decided in their own mind to which views they subscribe and they are prepared to share these with their clients.

3 - How will you assess my attitude towards investment risk, reward and volatility?

Getting this right is a very important part of delivering suitable investment advice. Tolerance to risk can be very subjective, so a thorough assessment is essential.

This means much more than your adviser asking you to point at your risk level on a scale of one to something. Risk assessment should involve a combination of structured questioning and more general discussions about what you are trying to achieve, your experiences and views of the world.

You might also have a different risk profile for different financial objectives. Your adviser should cater for this as well.

We still see too many investors who have been pigeon-holed into a narrow risk definition. Once established, ask your investment adviser to describe your risk profile back to you, to ensure understanding. Always get a detailed description of your risk profile in writing for future reference.

4 - What resources do you have to enable you to deliver suitable investment advice?

The consistent delivery of excellent investment advice requires substantial resources. It cannot happen as a result of one man sitting in his office reading a copy of the FT.

Ask your investment adviser to describe the investment research software to which they subscribe and how they use it. Your investment adviser should be paying for professional research tools and not simply looking at the same data you can get for free online.

Find out about the other people involved behind the scenes in the investment advice process. Ask questions about their experience, qualifications and role in the construction of advice.

5 - Once you deliver investment advice, how do you keep it under review to ensure it remains suitable?

The worst type of investment advice is delivered once and then abandoned. Excellent investments need regular reviews, conducted at least annually. These reviews are the opportunity to rebalance the asset allocation of your portfolio, manage risk levels, replace underperforming fund managers and make sure you remain on track.

If you implement investment advice with your adviser, there is a good chance you will be paying for ongoing reviews through the annual management charge you pay, as a part of this charge goes to the investment adviser each year. Ask what type of ongoing reviews you will receive, the format of these reviews and (importantly) when you should expect to receive them.

What next?

With these five questions you should be able to get under the skin of your IFA, stockbroker or discretionary fund manager. Their answers to these questions will quickly reveal their competence (or lack of it!), helping you to make the right decision about where you get your investment advice in the future.

Martin Bamford is Site Editor of BrilliantWithMoney and Managing Director at Informed Choice; the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners. He is author of Brilliant Investing: What the Best Investors Know, Say and Do (£12.99, Prentice Hall).

5 Habits That Stop Strokes

I love the RealAge website.  It's owned by Oprah's Dr Oz and it's jam-packed full of tips, articles, quizes and videos to help you get and stay fit and healthy.  They send out a daily email and one of today's articles was 5 Habits That Stop Strokes, which includes all the excuse-busting tips you need to get started on slashing your stroke risk by up to 80%.

What You Don't Do Doesn't Matter by Chris Guillebeau

In this post from The Art of Non-Conformity blog, Chris Guillebeau reminds us that it's not enough just to think about doing something... you have to actually do it to make it count.

Exchange your English skills for a holiday in Spain

Would you like to stay in a 4 star hotel in Spain with lots of food, drink and conversation - all for free?  Course you would!  Who wouldn't? 

Well, with VaughanTown, it's possible.  You just exchange your English conversation for room and board in Spain. 

The idea is that a group of 'Anglos' - English speakers from all over the world, join a group of Spaniards who want to improve their English for a week of conversation in a super hotel.  All you have to do is get to Madrid and back at your own expense and pay for any necessary accommodation outside of VaughanTown. They pay all the rest.  Visit the VaughanTown website to find out more and apply.

Check out the '6 Stages of Retirement' Squidoo lens

I've just finished a new Squidoo lens on 'The 6 Stages of Retirement'. Check it out and, if you feel so inclined, leave me some feedback in the Guest Book at the bottom of the page.

Do you want to live to be 100?

Do you want to live to be 100?  In an attempt to find the path to long life and health, Dan Buettner and his team study the world's "Blue Zones," communities whose elders live with vim and vigour to record-setting age.  In this TED Talks video, he shares the 9 common diet and lifestyle habits that keep them spry past age 100.

150 words of advice for retiring women

I've just been asked by a journalist to provide 150 words of advice to retiring women.  150 words.  I've written sentences longer than that!  Nevertheless, here's what I came up with... (works equally well for retiring men):

Start living on your expected retirement income NOW to gauge how you'll cope.

Retirement is a 6-stage process, including the 'Honeymoon Phase' where you're experiencing all the fun of being retired and 'Disenchantment', when a feeling of disappointment or 'let-down' can occur.  It’s normal for this to happen.  Expect it.

Be aware that energy levels can flag directly after retirement (a bit like when you go on holiday or vacation and spend the first few days sleeping).  They'll recover.

Make a 'bucket list' of things you still want to be, do and have.  Tackle it.

What would a typical day in your ideal retirement look and feel like?  Write it down.  Get your partner to do the same thing.  Compare notes.  Talk about the differences.  Be kind to each other.

Get out and about.  Don't fall into the trap of watching daytime TV.  Do voluntary work - it'll make you feel good.