Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Retirement Relieves Job Stress


Interesting Retirement T-Shirt

I'm retired: Leave the relaxing to me.

Interesting Retirement Fact
Two-thirds of Canadians retire before the full Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan benefit age of 65, often times involuntarily. What does this mean?


Another Interesting Retirement Fact

According to a Harris/Decima poll of 2,200 Canadian commissioned by Russell Investments Canada Ltd., currently retired people say they need only 60% of the income generated when they were working -- a stark contrast to a similar survey a year ago from Fidelity Investments Canada which found 80% or even higher "replacement ratios" might be necessary.

The Spoilers - Countries Against Early Retirement
  • Britain plans to gradually raise its age of retirement at which full state pensions will kick in. By the year 2044, the U.K,'s retirement age will be 68.
  • The U.S. and Germany also plan to raise their retirement age to 67.
  • Italy and Belgium have already raised their age of retirement to 60

Monday, September 8, 2008

Book Review: How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free


This review of The World's Best Retirement Book comes from the The Canadian Dream:


    As part of my vacation I'm getting caught up on some reading and I came across a great little book.

    How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free by Ernie J. Zelinski is a must read, but not for the usual reasons.

    Typically I read books for investment advice, spending reductions and taxation. This one is different in the regards it focuses on that old question of "What are you going to do with all that time in retirement?" Ernie actually gives a great read on how to plan your leisure time to ensure you have a rewarding retirement.

    It a pleasure to read a book that addresses the idea of how to have satisfying leisure time. I think most people spend far too much leisure time at passive activities such as watching TV. One example in the book is if you reduce your TV time by just one hour a day you will gain about 365 hours a year or about 20 extra days a year (based on a 18 hour day awake time) to do something more meaningful, such as reading or another hobby.

    So next time you think you don't have time for anything. Try to just find one hour a day and see what happens. (Yes, I know that an hour can seem like an impossible goal some days, but try for just 15 minutes and you still gain an extra 5 days a year on something.)
Here is a little more about the book: With a focus on the non-financial aspects of retirement, How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free explores the myriad choices and decisions we are all confronted with in living out our retirement lives.
Easy to read and well laid out, the bestselling non-financial retirement book on Amazon.com emphasizes preparing for retirement long before you retire.
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free is a provocative, entertaining, down-to-earth, and tremendously inspiring book that will help you get more joy and satisfaction out of all your retirement activities.

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