Keeping Track of New IRA Rules

Are you looking forward to a retirement that includes travel, playing golf, pursuing your hobbies and feeling comfortable about your financial situation?  If so, the sooner you start your retirement planning, the better off you will be.

There are a lot of different choices, however, and at first they may seem confusing.  In addition to deciding whether you need an IRA, a Roth IRA, a 401K or a combination of several retirement plans, you also have to decide which broker to use.  Even then, your retirement account decisions will not remain static.

It seems as if IRA rules are changing constantly, and 2013 was no exception.  The company that handles your IRA or Roth IRA for you should keep you up-to-date on all the annual changes and they should also let you know how the changes could affect the amounts you are depositing in your accounts each year.

Because of all the different choices that are available, I always encourage my readers to do their own research in order to have all the information they need to make wise decisions.   Having a good investment adviser is an important part of your retirement planning strategy.  Taking the time to compare their advice to what others are saying is just smart.

If you have not yet selected a broker to handle your IRA for you, the sooner you get started, the better off you will be when you are finally ready to stop working.  One website I have found that will help you compare brokers is IRA Success.  They have put together an excellent list of popular brokers including Charles Schwab, eTrade, Fidelity, Scottrade and others.  Their chart tells you the commissions rates, account minimums and IRA fees.  Using their chart is so much easier than contacting each company on your own, so I wanted everyone to have this direct link to the IRA Broker Comparison Chart.

I am also providing a link to an IRA contribution cheat-sheet that IRA Success also provides and updates annually.  The information they give on their cheat-sheet, as well as in some of their blog posts, is quite useful in helping you decide which type of retirement savings plan will best meet your needs.

You may also want to read a good book on investment savings so that you have a better understanding of the different types of retirement savings accounts and how to best take advantage of them.  I think the two books listed below are especially helpful and you can click on their titles to be taken directly to their Amazon page.  Read an excerpt from each book and their reviews and decide if one of these books would be helpful to you in dealing with your retirement planning:

Preparing for Retirement:  A Comprehensive Guide to Financial Planning
The AARP Retirement Survival Guide

If you have gone to the trouble to save money towards your retirement, you owe it to yourself to make sure you have a plan in place for maximizing your contributions, reduced your investment costs and increasing your principle.  Using the websites and books I have mentioned here are a great way to make certain you are on the right track!

Links to Sources:

http://iracontributionlimits2010.com/ira-contribution-cheat-sheet-2012/

http://irasuccess.com/compare-ira-brokers

Retirement books from Amazon.com

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Photo credit:  www.morguefile.com

Using Humor to Enhance our Health

As we age, most of us are going to suffer from a variety of ailments.  Many of them will merely be inconveniences ... a bit of arthritis, tennis elbow, or sore muscles.  In other cases, we may face life-threatening illnesses such as cancer or heart disease.  In addition, we will all face periods of stress ... the death of a loved one, a distant move, or financial difficulty.   Some people will even have to endure all of those events.

How can we get through these experiences without letting discomfort, life-threatening illnesses and stressful circumstances destroy us?  Occasionally, I recommend books or articles that I find on other sites, especially if I think they will help my readers have a happier and more satisfying retirement.  In that spirit, I recently discovered a book that I that I feel many Baby Boomers will find useful in dealing with life's struggles.

According to Jan Marshall, the founder of the International Humor & Healing Institute and the author of "Dancin' Schmancin' with the Scars: Finding the Humor No Matter What," most of us will be healthier and happier if we approach all of life's complications with a sense of humor.

Ms. Marshall practices what she preaches, too.  As you read through her book, you will discover her own profound experiences with breast cancer and other difficulties.  However, after allowing herself time to cry and grieve over her personal losses, she used her own indomitable spirit and sense of humor to get herself through some of the worst trials many of us will have to face.

She concludes her book with a chapter full of tips that will help her readers find a sense of humor in their life challenges, too.

Here are two of my favorite quotes from her book:

"If we can eventually discover humor in a dire situation, we probably have defeated and survived it."


"Not a shred of evidence exists that life is serious ... "

I recently spent some time with Jan, sitting next to her a rather boring business meeting for a club in our retirement community.  I was so glad I was sitting at the back of the room, because she was such a delightful conversationalist.  She is a frequent public speaker on the topic of humor and healing and, in fact, founded the International Humor & Healing Institute in 1986. 

Once you read her book, I'm sure you will have a few favorite quotes from it, too.  Other readers who have already discovered her charming wit have given her book a 5-star rating on Amazon.com.

You can order her book directly from Amazon by using this link:

"Dancin' Schmancin' with the Scars: Finding the Humor No Matter What!

If you are in the process of planning your own happy retirement, you may also want to check out the tabs at the top of this blog to find links to other articles that may be of interest to you.

You are reading from the blog:  http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com

Photo credit:  Amazon.com
(As an Amazon affiliate, I am permitted to use Amazon photos when I write product reviews.)

Cut your Heart Attack Risk in Half

According to a special report on our local ABC News affiliate in Los Angeles on February 3, 2014, many people are not aware of the fact that heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women.  In fact, someone dies from heart disease in the United States every 90 seconds.  Unfortunately, 30% of adults are not doing anything to reduce their risk of developing heart disease.  Furthermore, according to the ABC News report, while we can't completely eliminate our heart attack risk, taking a few simple actions can cut your risk in half.

The specialists who were interviewed for the ABC report said there were five things people should do to reduce their risk of a heart attack:

* Eat right
* Get exercise
* Lower your blood pressure if it is elevated
* Stop smoking (or don't start)
* Lower your cholesterol if it is elevated

Eat Right

Reduce your sodium intake.  In particular, they mentioned that people should watch the amount of sodium in bread products.  Many bread products, including bagels, waffles, pancake mixes, bread dressing, etc., contain a lot more sodium than people realize.

People should also lower the amount of sugar and unhealthy fats that they consume.  Many people mindlessly consume far more sugar than they know, simply by having a soda and a pastry every day.  Everyone should avoid saturated fats from animal sources, as well as transfats or partially hydrogenated fats.  Replace these bad fats with reasonable amounts of healthy fats, such as olive oil and coconut oil.

Get Exercise

You don't have to become an athlete.  However, everyone should walk for at least 30 minutes three times a week.  This is a reasonable goal and will probably encourage you to walk even more frequently, for longer distances, as time goes by. 

Lower Your Blood Pressure If It is Elevated

If you follow the first three suggestions by eating right, reducing your sodium intake and getting exercise, your blood pressure may stay within the normal blood pressure range without a problem.  However, if your blood pressure remains high, you should consider taking medication for it.  High blood pressure not only contributes to heart disease, but is also a factor in strokes, kidney disease and other health issues.

Stop Smoking

Every smoker already knows that this habit contributes to a wide variety of health problems, so I will not nag you about it!

Lower Your Cholesterol If It is Elevated

Avoiding sugar, saturated fats and transfats should go a long way towards lowering your cholesterol level.  However, for some people, diet and exercise alone are not adequate.  If you are one of those people, it is important to take the appropriate medication so that plaque does not build up in your veins.

More Ideas for a Healthy Heart

The February, 2014 issue of Reader's Digest also put together their own list of easy things people can do to reduce their heart attack risk.  Some of these suggestions are so appealing that it may be worth it to pick out two or three and give them a try!

Drink three cups of tea a day 
Eat less meat
When you do eat meat, choose products with no antibiotics, hormones or additives
Eat more sardines, mackerel, anchovies, salmon and herring
Get more physical activity
Practice yoga for a few minutes a day
Love a pet
Sit in a sauna ... especially an infrared sauna
Compile a gratitude list
Have sex at least twice a week
Open your windows and let out the polluted indoor air
Clean with vinegar, lemons, baking soda and cornstarch
Get rid of your plastic food containers and use glass, ceramic or stainless steel containers instead.


If you are retired or planning to retire someday, use the tabs at the top of this page to find links to hundreds of articles that will be useful to you ... on topics ranging from where to retire in the United States or overseas, to medical concerns, retirement income, family issues, travel and more.

You are reading from the blog:  http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com

Photo credit:  www.morguefile.com

Resources for Retiring Overseas

Whether it is for financial reasons or because they want to experience something new and exciting, thousands of Americans choose to retire overseas every year.  Large enclaves of ex-patriot Americans now exist all over the world.

The longer I have written this blog, the more I have come to understand the appeal of many of these places.  While it may be very difficult for a couple to comfortably retire in some regions of the United States on $2,000 to $3,000 a month, there are many places in other parts of the world where you could comfortably retire on that amount of money and still hire a full-time housekeeper, eat out frequently and have money to do some traveling.

Using the "Retire Overseas" tab at the top of this blog, you will find links to articles about a number of popular locations to retire overseas, as well links to a few articles about the advantages and disadvantages of retiring in another country.  I highly recommend that you read these articles if you are considering making such a significant lifestyle change.  I will be adding to this list of articles on a regular basis.

In addition, you will want to check out my online Squidoo review of the book, "How To Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (For Less) Abroad."  This book has detailed information about retiring in the countries of Argentina, Belize, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Thailand and Uruguay.  The article also contains links to a couple of other helpful books about retiring overseas.

The author of "How to Retire Overseas" has lived in a number of different countries and understands what it is like to arrange a foreign move and create a new life in an unfamiliar place.  Anyone who would like to move to another country will feel much more comfortable with their decision after reading this book or one of the others mentioned in my review. 

You can check out my review at "Retirement Book Review: How to Retire Overseas."

If you are planning to retire soon, you will also want to check out the other tabs at the top of this blog to learn more about great places to retire in the United States, handling your retirement money, medical concerns, travel, family relationships and more.

You are reading from the blog:  http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com