Moneysmartz Personal Finance Guide and Blog

Retirement Planning Update

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 14:24:31 -0600

Category: Retirement Planning
Recent Update: November 9, 2006.
Category Overview

Since retirement is looming for the first of almost 78 million baby boomers, boomer or not, we'll all experience the wave of retirement information, products, and services through commercials, articles, blog posts, and more.

Before you tune out and take cover from the tide of stories about 401k plans, IRAs, estate planning, annuities, pensions, social security and Medicare, anytime, especially now, is a great time to check and see if your nest egg is safe and growing and your financial house is in order.

If you are just getting started planning for your retirement, then going to Google and searching under retirement will return about 12 million results, a tidal wave of information by any standard.

The recently updated Moneysmartz Retirement category offers a place for you to gently place your toe in the water and find relevant sources of information and reliable providers of services.

While on the Retirement category page, you'll find sources of information, like portals, online encyclopedias, and government websites, under featured listings. Under listings, just below featured listings, you'll find providers of services, like retirement plan managers. Editor picks are included in our custom search engine, letting you search the best financial sites.

Tips for Getting Started

Start with the big picture by visiting a financial portal or planning center like CNN Retirement, the Yahoo! Finance Retirement and Planning Center or Smart Money Retirement. Wikipedia introduces retirement .

Learn retirement planning lingo. Best bets include Investopedia's retirement terminology and AICPA's retirement literacy resources.

Determine how much you need to save for retirement and maintain your same lifestyle using the Choose to Save Ballpark Calculator in combination with FIRECalc.

Learn about the most important elements of your retirement savings and investing plan including Social Security, pensions, 401ks, IRAs and retirement plan taxes.

Get advice and help in managing your retirement plans. Fidelity and Vanguard are leaders.

Don't forget resources offered to specific groups including the AARP for Seniors and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement.

If you are truly lacking motivation, then ponder Five Questions for a Better Retirement.

Featured Custom Searches

Baby Boomer Retirement

Early Retirement

Retirement Benefits

Social Security

Retirement Investing

401k

IRAs

Retirement Annuities

Real Estate Rules for a Down Market

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 08:47:40 -0600

Because home equity represents a significant percentage of total household net worth for most Americans, particularly the baby boomer generation that is now approaching retirement, real estate market downturns wreak havoc on our collective state of well-being.

Our current market downturn has captured the attention of a host of real estate bubble blogs and more recently cover stories from financial and general news magazines.

One of these cover stories worth a read comes from the November issue of Business 2.0, featuring real estate guidance, including where to buy, where not to buy, bubble proof markets, and new rules of real estate.

For the Rich Dad, Poor Dad crowd, the feature provides advice on buying low and renting high including a tidy formula for how to make the rent pay.

With the raft of real estate guidance, you have a fighting chance to protect your home equity or even increase your net worth with a few well-informed moves.

Baby Boomers and Real Estate

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:58:33 -0600

As the first of the baby boomers turn 60 and begin to seriously contemplate retirement, get ready for even more coverage about this cohort of 78 million Americans. The good news for everyone is that the information and advice should be helpful for all generations, particularly since so many pundits regularly voice concern about the sad state of retirement planning and savings in the United States.

An example of this media barrage, Newsweek's The Boomer Files, is a noteworthy boomer resource. The most recent installment focuses on real estate, with advice about where to retire, second homes, and real estate strategies such as reverse mortgages and mortgage payoffs.

This is serious stuff for boomers turning 60 and for the rest of us a glimpse into our future and opportunity to get ahead of the game.

Eons

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 09:28:17 -0600

Site Name: Eons
Site Description: It's inevitable that as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, more websites and blogs will be devoted to helping this cohort make the most of their time and financial resources. Eons, the MySpace for seniors and boomers, started by Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor, and seeded with significant venture capital funding, launched in July with the goal of reaching baby boomers and seniors. Eons is a 50+ media company inspiring a generation of boomers and seniors to live the biggest life possible. The Eons website features articles, information, and discussion on a range of topics important to boomers and seniors, including health, travel, relationships and money.
Personal Finance Category: Life Events>Retiring
Bottom Line: For boomers and seniors, Eons offers a wealth of relevant information and a place to interact with others. Eon's money section is a one-stop-shop of boomer and senior financial information and advice. Finally, a unique search engine, called cRANKy, provides links and blogs for the 50+ set.