.Preparing For A Snowbird Lifestyle

Preparing For A Snowbird Lifestyle

By Harriet Edleson, AARP

Before you migrate to a warmer climate for the winter, take these steps:

Visual:  Couple in beach chairs, holding hands, smiling 

When Richard and Betty Ann Smith retired 15 years ago, they moved from East Brunswick, N.J., to Easton, Pa., and decided to start spending the winter months along the Gulf Coast of Alabama.

From January through March, temperatures there are in the 60s and 70s — a climate the Smiths find much better for staying active than the winter weather in Pennsylvania.

“We go for golf, we go for fishing and we go for socializing with our winter friends,” says Richard Smith, 79, a retired Presbyterian pastor. “All along the coast, the snowbirds migrate, and they fill up the coast area in the winter.”

The Smiths, like others who have retired, found a new freedom as snowbirds — people who migrate to warmer climates each year usually sometime between December and January. As temperatures dip throughout the U.S., snowbirds head south to escape the winter wind, ice and snow of northern states.

Health reasons such as pulmonary issues motivate some, while others simply prefer warm weather. And according to yearlong residents of those sunnier climates, the snowbirds who used to come just for winter are now starting to stick around longer.

Along Alabama’s Gulf Coast, for example, the unofficial snowbird season used to be mostly January and February but now has extended from early November until March, says Kay Maghan, a spokesperson for Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism. “We are seeing a much longer stay from our snowbirds in the last four years,” she says.

“There is a growing number of people who are becoming snowbirds and who are staying longer,” says John F. Brady, founder of TopRetirements.com, a website that focuses on retirement issues. “Boomers – a large segment – are tired of winter and the hassles that come with it.”

In addition to Alabama, other states that have been popular snowbird destinations are Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina and Texas, according to Homeaway.

Picking a snowbird destination — and deciding how long to stay there each year — depends largely on finances and tastes. Brady and his wife, Roberta, 65, who is a mystery writer, split their time between Madison, Conn., and Key West, Fla., which has become their primary residence.

Others, like Washington, D.C., attorney Alan Tawshunsky, 64, continue to live most of the year in their home in the colder climate. Tawshunsky has spent the past three winters in South Florida, where he works remotely in his own law practice. “I prefer the milder weather in Florida to D.C. in the winter,” he says.

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

https://www.aarp.org/retirement/planning-for-retirement/info-2018/how-to-snowbird.html?intcmp=AE-RET-SAV-R1C1

.10 Habits Of Financially Successful People

10 Habits of Financially Successful People

By: Beverly Bird

 Can You Get Ahead Just By Changing Your Habits?

We’ve all done it: ogling massive homes and estates while we’re driving, wondering how the owners achieved all that success and wishing for a little of it ourselves. Or maybe your neighbor just bought a brand new Ferrari. How did he become so financially successful?

Here’s a hint: He might not be. He might just appear to be successful. In fact, the world’s most successful people generally don’t spend wildly. They’ve developed good fiscal habits and they’re exactly that – habits. They’re consistent.

A Penny Saved…

Successful people routinely save. This doesn’t necessarily mean dropping their change into a jar every night before bed, although this is certainly beneficial, too. It means never spending more than they have to.

Think of it this way: Every time single time you use that credit card or write a check, you have less money than you had a minute before. The equation only works if you spend less than you earn. It’s that simple.

You might have heard about Warren Buffett’s house, the one he bought for cash decades ago and continues to live in. It’s not a mansion. In fact, it’s a little on the small side. There’s no doubt in the world that Buffett can afford a lot more, but he’s lived with the habit of deferring instant and copious gratification in exchange for long-term wealth and security.

Are you stretching your budget to accommodate a lifestyle you can’t easily afford? Do you find yourself juggling your finances every month because you don’t quite earn enough to make all ends meet? This might be a habit you want to get out of.

And It’s About How You Save

About that change jar you toss your coins into every night. Get your money out of there and put it in some type of a financial account, even if it’s just a run-of-the-mill bank savings account, where it can earn some interest and grow.

Financial experts tout the 10 percent rule – you should regularly and methodically tuck aside this much of your income. Financially successful people tend to make it a habit to do more than that. Think 15 percent or even 20 percent if you can manage it.

If you’re not that disciplined – although most successful people are – set up automatic transfers to your savings so you don’t even have to think about it.

Put It in Writing

Another habit that can bear fruit involves writing it all down. Commit your budget to something black and white, whether it’s a file in your computer, a smartphone app or good old pen and paper. Financially successful people like to literally see where their money is going and coming from.

Sure, you can go online and view your bank balance at a glance. But do you really want to take someone else’s word for how much money you have? Banks aren’t infallible, and financially successful people know that. They keep track of their own money as well.

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

 https://pocketsense.com/15-quotes-from-successful-investors-that-will-change-your-life-13708277.html

.For the Love of Money

For the Love of Money

By Sam Polk, Sunday Review (Opinion)

 In my last year on Wall Street my bonus was $3.6 million — and I was angry because it wasn’t big enough. I was 30 years old, had no children to raise, no debts to pay, no philanthropic goal in mind. I wanted more money for exactly the same reason an alcoholic needs another drink: I was addicted.

That seemed like a fortune. Every January and February, I think about that time, because these are the months when bonuses are decided and distributed, when fortunes are made.

​I’d learned about the importance of being rich from my dad. He was a modern-day Willy Loman, a salesman with huge dreams that never seemed to materialize. “Imagine what life will be like,” he’d say, “when I make a million dollars.”

While he dreamed of selling a screenplay, in reality he sold kitchen cabinets. And not that well. We sometimes lived paycheck to paycheck off my mom’s nurse-practitioner salary.

 Dad believed money would solve all his problems. At 22, so did I. When I walked onto that trading floor for the first time and saw the glowing flat-screen TVs, high-tech computer monitors and phone turrets with enough dials, knobs and buttons to make it seem like the ****pit of a fighter plane, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/opinion/sunday/for-the-love-of-money.html?_r=2

.What Are You Willing To Do For Financial Independence?

What Are You Willing To Do For Financial Independence?

By Barry Choi

 I’m honestly getting really tired of all the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) blogs, articles, and people out there. Don’t get me wrong, I think FIRE is amazing, and if you can achieve it, that’s great.

My problem is that in the last little while, FIRE has been making headlines because of people who have unique situations.

It’s easy to achieve FIRE if you have a high income and reside in an area where there’s a low cost of living, but for most people, that may not be the case.If you want to achieve FIRE, you can take a few steps to help you get there. You may not retire in your 30’s or 40’s, but I would say if you can retire a few years early without having to worry about money, you’re probably doing alright.

Full disclosure, I’m looking to retire early myself, but there’s just no way I’m doing what some people did to get there. What are You Willing to do for Financial Independence?

When FIRE Gets Out Of Hand

A couple years back the CBC featured Millennial Revolution, a couple in their early 30’s who retired with a $1,000,000 portfolio. There was so much online hate that they followed up with another story loosely explaining how they managed to achieve FIRE.

Basically, the couple graduated as computer engineers and had high paying jobs while living in an apartment that cost them $800 a month. They saved $500K and invested their money which happened to coincide with one of the biggest market rallies in history.

When their portfolio hit a million dollars, they called it quits and have been travelling since. This is a great story, but that’s some pretty unique circumstances.

Business Insider recently featured Physician on FIRE who is a part-time doctor earning $250,000 a year and plans to retire in a year at the age of 43. When I first read the headline, I was wondering why it took so long for a guy who earns a quarter of a million U.S. dollars working part-time to retire.

 Well, it turns out he was never really formally planning to do so but realized that with his current situation, it made sense to achieve FIRE. It’s clear that Physician on FIRE worked his butt off to get to where he’s at, but how many people make $250K working part-time?

Then there’s Sean Cooper who paid off his mortgage in just three years. Sean gets a lot of hate online since he sacrificed just about everything to achieve his goal.

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

https://www.moneywehave.com/what-are-you-willing-to-do-for-financial-independence/

.When Money Makes You Miserable

More Money, Less Happiness: When Money Makes You Miserable

By  Michael Laurence — August 14 2019

More money, less happiness: When money makes you miserable

Money, the conventional wisdom says, doesn't buy happiness. Modern psychology seems to back this up, with studies suggesting that beyond an income of $75,000, money doesn't make you any happier.

This conclusion is simultaneously obvious and counter-intuitive.

As an abstract principle, most us acknowledge that money doesn't buy happiness. But, at the same time, we all want more of something material — a nicer house, nicer vacations, the ability to live in a certain neighborhood or eat at fancier restaurants — that we think would make us happier. (If you're J.D., you think maybe season tickets to your favorite team might make you happier.)

So, we're left with a conundrum. Or, rather, a series of conundrums: Does income in excess of $75,000 make us happier? And if not, why not?

When Money Makes You Happier

In answer to the first question, I believe that all else equal — and as we'll see below, this is a huge qualifier, as things are rarely equal — more money generally makes you happier.

To be clear, money won't solve every problem. If you're lonely or bitter or angry, for instance, more money won't make you any happier. But just because money doesn't solve every problem doesn't mean that money won't solve any problems.

Money can make many things easier, or better. With more money you can:

Build a nest-egg.

Pay off your house or car.

Go on more vacations.

Have more kids.

Be a stay at home parent.

Eat better food.

Retire early.

With more money, you can do any number of other things that people enjoy and that make them happier. And if you're a victim of systemic poverty, more money can change your world.

As much as we pay lip-service to the idea of money not making us happy, it often does, and it's okay to admit this. It doesn't make us materialistic or greedy to want retirement savings, a nicer home, a paid-off car, or a trip to Europe.

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

https://www.getrichslowly.org/more-money-less-happiness/

.Which Financial Advice Should You Trust?

Which Financial Advice Should You Trust?

By  J.D. Roth — published 19 August 2019 (updated 22 August 2019)

Commenting on a recent article, Carmine Red asked an excellent question:

How do you evaluate the financial advice you get from other sources? Specifically, how do you decide if some piece of advice is for you, or if you should discard some adjacent advice. Is there an amount of pick-and-choose?

GRS definitely doesn’t seem like a dogmatic 100% one-way-of-doing things site, so I’d love to hear about the critical thinking you employ, and that I’m sure we can all use a little of since we’re getting bombarded by financial “do this!” or “don’t do this” instructions from so many different dimensions.

Carmine is right: GRS is not dogmatic. From the start, my top admonition has been “do what works for you”. By this I mean that you should test financial advice to see if it works for you and your situation. There's little (if any) advice that applies to 100% of people in 100% of cases. Life is messy. Money is messy.

So, how can you decide whom to trust? How can you evaluate a piece of financial advice to decide whether it has merit? And if the financial advice does have merit, how can you tell if it's right for your life?

Today, let's take a deep dive into this question. Let's explore how to evaluate all of the financial advice you get — from the internet, from television, and in real life.

Which Financial Advice Should You Trust?

 How to Evaluate Financial Advice

Before I answer Carmine's question directly, I want to approach it obliquely. If you find this section boring, please skip to the next one. I won't hold it against you!

In 1940, Mortimer J. Adler published How to Read a Book, which contained 400 pages of advice on doing something that most people would argue needs no instruction. In 1967, he revised the book and turned it into a little masterpiece.

In the revised edition, Adler argues that there are four levels of reading:

Elementary Reading.   At this basic level, the reader is able to answer the question, “What does the sentence say?” But reading at this stage is a mechanical act.

Inspectional Reading.   At this level, a reader's aim is to get the most from a book (or article) in a minimum of time. “Inspectional reading is the art of skimming systematically,” Adler writes. Your aim is to get a surface understanding of the book, to answer the question, “What is this book about?”

Analytical Reading.   At this level, you're doing the best, most complete and thorough reading of a book that you can do. Inspectional reading is done quickly. Analytical reading is done without a time limit. Its aim is understanding. This is the sort of reading that most of us do most of the time.

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

https://www.getrichslowly.org/financial-advice/#more-237516

.4 Compelling Reasons To Be Thinking About Gold

Notes From The Field   By Simon Black

August 21, 2019   San Juan, Puerto Rico

4 Compelling Reasons To Be Thinking About Gold

From time to time it’s important to take a giant step back and take a fresh look at everything that’s going on with a big picture perspective.

The last few weeks have been nothing short of incredible… so many important things happening that have never happened before ever. Let’s take a step back together:

1) $50 Billion To “Elevate Your Consciousness”

As we discussed on Monday, WeWork filed its formal IPO paperwork in the United States last week, indicating that the company will be worth nearly $50 BILLION when it goes public.

WeWork has never turned a profit. It doesn’t expect to turn a profit. It doesn’t have a plan to turn a profit. And it claims its mission is to ‘elevate the world’s consciousness’.

WeWork owns no real estate. It has almost no assets. In fact, WeWork’s primary asset is the office space it currently leases (i.e. does not own).

And to be fair, they’re leasing a LOT of space. WeWork hopes to eventually lease 40 million square feet of office space.

But at $50 BILLION, investors are essentially paying $1,250 for each square foot of office space that WeWork is LEASING.

That’s almost as expensive as what it costs to BUY in New York City.

Talk about overpaying.

Then there are the ridiculous shenanigans of WeWork’s co-founder/CEO Adam Neumann, who has a history of unethical behavior.

Neumann charged his own company nearly $6 million for the “We” trademark earlier this year. He borrowed money from the company to buy real estate that he immediately leased back to WeWork.

And now he’s selling shares in this IPO to investors which have dramatically diminished voting rights… further cementing his power over the company.

So not only are investors dramatically overpaying for a company that has very few assets and burns cash with no end in sight, but they’re willingly giving up control to someone who has a history of enriching himself at their expense.

 2) Yikes! Interest rates

But perhaps even more insane than WeWork (if that’s even possible) is what’s happening with interest rates.

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

https://www.sovereignman.com/investing/4-compelling-reasons-to-be-thinking-about-gold-25490/

.TOP 10 - The Weakest World Currencies in 2019

TOP 10 - The Weakest World Currencies in 2019

 Most people know about the strongest, most stable and powerful world currencies, for example British Pound Sterling, Swiss Franc (Swissie), US Dollar, Euro and others (see TOP 10 the strongest currencies).

These Currencies are the most stable – as well as the countries issuing them are.

However, what about the least valued world currencies? Who knows their names and what countries they are issued in…?

While making this list, we found it definitely hard to put in proper order the least valuable currencies, due to the fact that the economic situation is changing rapidly in all these countries.

However, it is possible to identify certain devalued national currencies at the moment. Thus, let’s look at 10 the cheapest foreign currencies against the US Dollar.

 The exchange rates of the least valued currencies were updated on 13 Jan 2019.

No. 1 – Iranian Rial (1 USD = ~112,000 IRR)   Currency code – IRR

1 USD = 41,994 IRR (official rate)   1 USD = ~112,000 IRR (black market rate)

The Iranian Rial is officially the least valued currency in the world.

To simplify the calculations, citizens often use the term Toman, which means 10 rials. If you’re asked to pay 200 tomans, it means that your bill is 2,000 Rials.

The Iran-Iraq War, threats against Israel as well as the possibility of nuclear missiles threatening the world from the Iranian government caused world superpowers to force economic and political sanctions.

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

https://fxssi.com/top-10-of-the-weakest-world-currencies-in-current-year

.TOP 10 – The Most Expensive World Currencies in 2019

TOP 10 – The Most Expensive World Currencies in 2019

What do you think, which currency is the most expensive in the world today?

 Most believe that the British pound is the highest currency; however, as it turned out it is not.

 Especially, for blog readers, we compiled the list of the strongest world currencies (Dated 13 Jan 2019).

 By the way, we also have the TOP 10 of the weakest world currencies.

 No. 1 – Kuwaiti Dinar (1 KWD = 3.29 USD)   Currency code – KWD  

The Kuwaiti Dinar is the world’s highest-valued currency against the US Dollar.

Kuwait is a small country with enormous wealth. The high value (rate) of its currency is explained by significant oil exports into the global market.

No. 2 – Bahraini Dinar (2.65 USD)   Currency code – BHD

1 BHD = 2.65 USD (pegged to dollar)

The Bahrain Dinar is the second most valuable currency.

Bahrain is a Persian Gulf island state with a population of just over 1 million people. As in the first case, this country’s largest source of income are the «black gold» exports.

It is interesting that the Bahrain Dinar is pegged to US Dollar exchange rate, and its rate against the US Dollar has remained stable since 2005 already.

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

https://fxssi.com/top-10-of-the-strongest-world-currencies-in-current-year

.Rothschild Crime Construct 3

Rothschild Crime Construct 3

Post From The Final Wake Up Call  By Peter B Meyer

The Way All People Have Become Enslaved

Central Banks Are A Private Banking Cartel

Each Country Has Rothschild-Controlled-Officials

Bloodline Families’ Model Of Power

The Hidden Usurious Mechanism Is The Vehicle Of Modern Day Slavery

The Power To Issue Money

In the past before 1917 banks existed, but these banks were independent and not integrated in a system. Making use of the banks was optional for the people, it was even possible not to use a bank for one’s entire life, if one chose to do so.

It was a stable banking system, because as debt increased, people could voluntarily choose to stop borrowing from the bank. The banks only dealt with gold-backed energy money and debt money didn’t exist. People, most importantly, had the ‘freedom of choice’ to say no to the bank.

In 1913, a corrupt government, congress and President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, changed the structure of the financial system and stole people’s freedom, as the economic system was reverted back into the same system which had existed beforehand, a system against which people had fought tooth and nail in a revolution to free themselves from.

 The power to issue money was taken away from the people’s government and given to a bunch of corrupt bankers, and from that day onward, all the money in circulation was created by a private group of corrupt banksters, that had to be loaned by the government and the people at interest, for which the people were held accountable as collateral to ensure payment of the interest.

 From that time on, every dollar in circulation began as an interest-bearing loan. There were no other dollars in circulation that did not start out as a loan at interest from the privately-owned central bank system.

 The Way All The People Became Enslaved

From that moment on, the freedom of the people to refuse to borrow from the banks and to refuse to pay interest was stripped away. To participate in commerce with the United States at all, means everyone was forced to use debt-money, loaned at interest, to the profit of the bankers and at the expense of the public.

People’s freedom to say “no” was stolen by Congress in 1913, without their permission, and even before many of us were born.

http://finalwakeupcall.info/en/2019/08/21/rothschild-crime-construct-3/

Rothschild’s Crime Construct 1   https://dinarrecaps.squarespace.com/our-blog/4-lh5a2

Rothschild Crime Construct 2   https://dinarrecaps.squarespace.com/our-blog/4-md4kf

.Why Lottery Winners Crash After A Big Win

Why Lottery Winners Crash After A Big Win

5 Rules If You Play An Office Lottery Pool

CHICAGO, IL - NOVEMBER 28:  A Powerball lotter...What happens when your “dreams” come true? We’re always told to be careful what we wish for, and for Powerball lottery winner “Wild” Willie Seeley and his wife Nancy, this advice couldn’t be more appropriate.

The Seeleys are calling their $3.8 million win a “curse.” Their complaints? They have been bombarded by the media for interviews, and family members – many they’ve never heard of — have hit them up for loans and financial favors. “There are days I wish we were back to just getting paid every two weeks,” Willie Seeley confessed in an NBC News interview.

There is nothing unusual about their complaints. This is what commonly happens with lottery winners, and often, with other recipients of sudden wealth from lawsuits, sports contracts or even inheritances.

But don’t count out the Seeleys just yet. There is hope they won’t face the same fate as $315 million Powerball winner Andrew “Jack” Whittaker who said “I wish I’d torn that ticket up,” after being robbed, losing his granddaughter to a drug overdose, being sued, and finding respite from the pressure by drinking, attending strip clubs and gambling.

As a sudden wealth financial advisor for over 15 years, I’ve had the chance to work with many clients who have received a windfall, and I’ve noticed there are predictable patterns – patterns of thinking and behaving that can explain how a multimillion dollar lottery winner can call her money a curse just a month after winning.

Immediately before or right after a sudden wealth event such as winning the lottery, many clients experience an almost out-of-body feeling. I refer to this as the honeymoon stage of sudden wealth.

 They are exuberant. It’s an exciting time and they feel like they are on top of the world. Anything and everything is possible. They celebrate with family and friends.

They may buy new cars and larger houses, jet skis and motorcycles. It’s Christmas morning every day, but the thing that makes Christmas so special is that it comes just once a year. The honeymoon phase is an artificial reality that is not sustainable.

Their emotions are high, and they are enjoying the charge of the novelty of their new life. But this “high” cannot last forever – most often as little as a few days to over six months — and then reality hits them.

Did Willie Seeley experience the honeymoon stage? I think he did and I think it lasted about a month. Seeley and 15 of his co-workers recently won last month’s $450 million Powerball jackpot and he was all smiles as he celebrated his win by holding a large check over his head at a press conference in August.

To continue reading, please go to the original article at

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertpagliarini/2013/12/11/5-rules-if-you-play-an-office-lottery-pool/