The New Retirement - Bleak and Not So Cozy

Here are some latest topics about the new retirement:

1. Retirees ‘tighten the belt’ in tough times
Lismore Northern Star - Australia
Coorabell retirees Jim and Barbara Hardie say they both lived through
the Great Depression, so are confident of surviving the current economic
downturn. ...


2. 40000 Australian retirees to shelve retirement plans – here’s how
you can benefit
SmartCompany.com.au - Melbourne,Victoria,Australia
According to new research from actuarial firm Rice Warner, plummeting
financial markets will force about 40000 older workers to postpone
their retirement ...

Too Much Retirement Planning May Be As Bad As Too Little
Consumer Affairs - USA
However, pre-retirees who had done more planning reported worse losses,
on average, than those who hadn’t planned. Retirement planning strategies
encourage ...

Here are some retirement resources to help you retire:

Funny Retirement Speech Topics

FRIENDSHIP ADVICE BETWEEN BEST FRIENDS

Where to Retire - Best Places to Retire

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.

Check out Creativity: What Is Your WOW Factor


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My Retirement Plan

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Most People in India Don’t Do Any Retirement Planning

A MetLife India Insurance survey has pointed out that most of people in India do not plan for the life after retirement. Indeed, 80% of Indians don’t do any retirement planning independent of any mandatory government plans. Despite worry about comfortable life after retirement; they do a little to plan for life after retirement.

Many full time workers in developing and also in mature economies have taken a few steps to plan their life after retirement. MetLife’s Rajesh Relan has released these findings of the surveys.

According to traditions of Indian society, a family would take care of its older members. But with demographic mobility young people are relocating themselves to areas other than their home base. Thus this safety net in families is getting weak with time in developing economies. This socio problem will only be solved if people would plan their life after retirement.

Life expectancies around the globe continue to rise with increase of food and oil prices in international market. Pension reforms are putting more responsibility on employees to fund their own retirements.

Lack of independent retirement preparedness is especially worrisome in both developing and mature economies. The number of employees who plans for retirement is also low in developed countries like Australia (58%), the US (46%) and the UK (31%). the UK was "most financially fit" and ahead of the other countries where 71% people workforce have taken steps to manage their retirement life. 69% have just started to plan about needs after retirement. The aim of GFK survey is to highlight the financial needs, habits and perceptions of employees and employers in India, Mexico, Australia, the UK and the US.

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

Retirement is a double-edged sword. You either make it work for you - or it will cut your happiness in half. The more you know about the secrets to a successful retirement, the happier you will be once you retire.

That's why you need The World's Best Retirement Book by Vipbooks Ernie Zelinski.



Over 110,000 Copies Sold
Published in 7 Foreign Languages

How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor 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.

Although turned down by over 35 publishers, How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free has already sold over 110,000 copies and has been published in 7 foreign languages since it was released.

What's more, go to www.Amazon.com and type "retirement" into the search feature. You will see that How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free appears in the number 1 position - out of over 175,000 listings for retirement books!


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Ideas for Retirement Parties

Two Reviews of My Favorite Retirement Book

Review of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free

It's always nice to discover more reviews of my favorite retirement book.

This one comes from Retirement Rocket:

Two of the world's most famous philosophers, Socrates and Plato, advocated a life of total leisure. So does author Ernie Zelinski, and, although he’s not as famous (or as Greek), he gives some inspirational tips on how to pull off such a feat. His The Joy of Not Working created an international stir a decade ago, and now his How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free devotes his joie de vive philosophy solely to retirement.

Zelinski is a master at how-to lists. "Activities & Places to Make New Friends" and "How to Take a Journey Close to Home" are a couple of examples. The most extensive list is the "Get a Life Tree," which contains seven pages of suggested activities for an adventurous retirement. Not one of them involves a couch or TV.

At times his suggestions seem a little too "wild" and too "free." For instance, under Retirement Travel Tips and Quotes there are llama trekking in Peru and camping in Outer Mongolia. Can you imagine a glitzy travel poster for either of these as a vacation get-away?

In How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free you'll meet a number of interesting people like Ben from Toronto, a former entertainer, who traveled across America in a Greyhound recently (a dog of a trip!), and wrote a book on the benefits of cayenne pepper, which he says is better than Viagra. Then there’s Bill and Valerie, who live aboard a sailboat in Hawaii, and Tom, who, at 96, still walks four miles a day and chases women at night.

The book's section titles can be quite entertaining. "If You Don’t Take Care of your Body, Where Do You Intend to Live?" is one about daily health maintenance. An even better is one "Early to Bed and Early to Rise Make a Person Dull, Boring and Despised." The message here is to forget rigid schedules when you retire. Good point. Retirement Living is a time to loosen up, live it up and curl up with How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free.



One of the Many 5-Star Reviews of The World's Best Retirement Book on Amazon.com

* * * * *

I purchased and borrowed several retirement guides in the months just prior to retiring. As I read the other books, I kept returning to How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free for the author's good, down to earth suggestions.

Most of the other books focus on finances and second careers after retirement. While both of these subjects are important issues, they are not the only concerns you have as you prepare for that big step into the future. How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free covers it all.

Those worries you may have about what to do after retiring - this book has lots of great, affordable suggestions for you. Taking care of yourself, continued learning and travel are all addressed. You will not be a bored retiree. Also enjoyable are the readers' letters to the author that are interspersed throughout the book.

Ernie J. Zelinski's upbeat book [ How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free ] is highly recommended as you prepare for that next important chapter in your life. With this book in hand, you will be ready to enjoy your retirement years to their fullest!

- Review of The World's Best Retirement Book on Amazon.com

Over 100,000 Copies Sold
Published in 7 Foreign Languages

Purchase How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free on Amazon.com before you submit your retirement letter with this direct link:

How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free on Amazon.com

Check out retirement quotations to help you retire to the wild and free life:

Advice on Whether to Take Early Retirement - Also Retirement Sayings and Quotes

According to a new retirement lifestyle survey, the ongoing volatility within financial markets has prompted a massive increased awareness toward retirement savings by Australian baby boomers.
More than three out of four Aussie baby boomers are beefing up their savings strategy as a result of the turmoil, according to a Commonwealth Bank survey.

The majority of changes included making bigger or additional contributions to their retirement savings plan, while about a third said they were investing more in other investments outside retirement plans such as shares or property.

Interestingly, the Retirement Lifestyle survey found almost 40 per cent of those surveyed considered retirement an opportunity to pursue a new career or learn new skills.

"This trend suggests that many people see retirement as a series of transitions where some form of work or community service can continue into the retirement years,'' Commonwealth Financial Planning general manager Tim Gunnin said.

According to TD Waterhouse's first Canadians and Retirement survey of already-retired Canadians, retirement is different from what many Canadians imagined it would be.

Twenty percent of women found retirement quite different from what they imagined, versus 15 percent of the men.

A quarter of Canadian retirees aged 55 to 70 found it hard to adjust to a life no longer defined by their work. Financial constraints meant they could not do all the things they used to do for 22 percent of those surveyed.

Retirement advice was offered by retirees to those contemplating retirement.

• Workers should develop a full life outside of work instead of waiting to do so at retirement
• Workers should take care of their physical and mental health
• Workers should save for retirement as early as possible.
• People should pay off all debt before retiring.
  Above all, individuals should take time to prepare for and understand what they want from retirement.

According to the TD Waterhouse only 15 percent of indiviudals are “completely living out their retirement dreams.” Lack of planning appears to be one reason for this.

Surprisingly, the best part of retirement is simple pleasures, say the retirees. Spending time with family and engaging in hobbies also are satisfying as is volunteering.



NOTE For retirement quotes see:

The 237 Best Things Ever Said about Retirement by Real Success Author Ernie Zelinski

and

Importance of Money in Retirement (Quotes and Sayings)

The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked by Ernie J. Zelinski

The Joy of Not Working is all about learning to live every part of your life - employment, unemployment, retirement, and leisure time alike - to the fullest. You too can join the thousands of converts and learn to thrive at both work and play. Illustrated by eye-opening exercises, thought-provoking diagrams, and lively cartoons and quotations, The Joy of Not Working will guide you to enjoy life like never before.

Top 10 Reasons to Buy The Joy of Not Working

1. You are more independent and more creative than most people.

2. You were born a lover of life and not a workaholic.

3. You don't want the cheese; you just want to get out of the trap.

4. You like books that are reader friendly with lots of cartoons, quotations, and exercises.

5. You like books that make you smile and challenge traditional ways of living and thinking.

6. You agree with the words of Bertrand Russell: "To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the best product of civilization."

7. You are receptive to the concept that we can achieve more if we relax, enjoy life more, forget about what the majority in society thinks is important, and focus on the things that really matter.

8. Your parents and co-workers will not approve of your adopting this book as your lifestyle Bible.

9. You know a good deal when you see one - if a book has been published in 17 languages in 20 different countries and has sold over 225,000 copies, it must have great value.

10. You know something important that the hard workers of this world don't know: the secret to a happy and fulfilling life is to work smart and not hard.

Purchase The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com with this direct link:

The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com

Purchase The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com with this direct link:

The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com Visit one of Ernie Zelinski's Blogs: