Category Archives: Life Style

Why is My Check Engine Light On

The check engine light in your vehicle’s dashboard illuminates when the onboard diagnostic (OBD) system detects a potential engine or emissions system issue. The OBD system monitors various sensors and components in your vehicle to ensure they function correctly and meet the required specifications.

Many faults can cause your check engine light to be on, ranging from minor issues to more severe problems. Some common causes include:

  1. Loose or damaged gas cap: A missing, damaged, or loose gas cap can cause the check engine light to come on. It’s one of the most straightforward issues to resolve, as simply tightening or replacing the cap can often solve the problem.
  2. Oxygen sensor malfunction: The oxygen sensors measure the amount of oxygen in the exhaust system, helping regulate the air-fuel mixture. A faulty oxygen sensor can reduce fuel efficiency and cause potential damage to the catalytic converter.
  3. Malfunctioning catalytic converter: The catalytic converter helps reduce harmful emissions by converting them into less toxic substances. A failing catalytic converter can trigger the check engine light and may require replacement.
  4. Faulty ignition coils or spark plugs: These components ignite the fuel mixture in the engine. When they malfunction, it can lead to misfires, reduced engine performance, and increased emissions.
  5. Issues with the (MAF) mass airflow sensor: The MAF sensor measures the engine’s air entering, determining the correct fuel-to-air ratio. A malfunctioning MAF sensor can affect engine performance and trigger the check engine light.
  6. Problems with the (EGR) exhaust gas recirculation system: The EGR system helps reduce emissions by recirculating some exhaust gases into the engine. If it malfunctions, it can cause rough idling, diminished power, and increased emissions.

These are just a few reasons the check engine light turns on. It’s essential to have a diagnostic scan performed using a specialized OBD scanner or by taking your vehicle to a qualified mechanic. The scan will retrieve error codes stored in the OBD system, providing more specific information about the issue. With the error codes, a professional can accurately diagnose and address the problem, ensuring your vehicle operates optimally and safely.

A Relationship Playbook for Couples in Retirement

A Relationship Playbook for Couples in RetirementIs your relationship with your spouse in good shape? Can it survive your retirement and that of your spouse? Many people are retiring, suddenly finding that they have lots of time. Time with their spouse, which they may have not had in the past. Busy schedules, children to raise, etc., all take time, and suddenly, that is all gone. Now you have all of this time available. You may spend it with your spouse you thought you knew well. Do you need a relationship playbook for couples in retirement?

A Relationship Playbook for Couples in Retirement

Everyone has to figure out what is right for them. It is also different for each person. There can be a lot of emotion. Everything from distress at leaving friends at work to spending time with your spouse who is also dealing with the same issues. Financial affairs can add stress to the relationship. Different objectives can also be an issue. What should couples focus on as they enter their retirement years?

Communication

While you may think you know your spouse well after all the years together, it is still important to communicate well. There are a lot of things changing in both of your lives. Making assumptions about what the other is thinking is just asking for trouble. Take the time to discuss everything, even if it is just to confirm what you believe your spouse is thinking.

Setting Objectives

Set objectives for yourself and your spouse together. Discuss them and adjust them as needed based on input from your spouse. Joint objectives can be powerful, especially when you are both committed. Your objectives can also significantly impact your financial affairs, bringing us to the next section.

Playbook for Couples in Retirement – Setting a Budget

Create a budget together and ensure that you are both committed and supportive. Can you accommodate each other’s objectives, or do you need to adjust your plans? Downsizing, travel, and going back to work are just a few of the assumptions that should be discussed. What about home renovations and maintenance issues that may have to be dealt with?

Hobbies and Friendships

Cultivate new hobbies, pick up on old hobbies, and build new friendships together and separately. These all provide something to discuss with your spouse at the end of the day. It also fills your time, which can be stressful for one or both of you.

Spending Time Together

Many people look forward to spending more time with their spouses. Others are worried because they may not have that much in common other than the kids. Some will schedule a time during the day separately from nine to five so that they can meet up later in the day and discuss their days activities. Figure out what works for each other and discuss it with your spouse. Be prepared to make changes and adjustments as time goes on.

Challenges Are Different for Men and Women

The challenges can be different for men and women for many reasons. From the type of job, they had to how much time they spent at home looking after the kids. Many couples find that if they divide household chores more evenly, pursuing new hobbies and activities can make a difference.

Playbook for Couples in Retirement – Time to Adjust to your New Lifestyle

It could take a few months or even as long as a year to adjust to your new lifestyle. Be prepared to be patient. Focus on communication and making changes to adapt to being retired, especially where your spouse comes in. Remember that both of you are adjusting to having more time off work and spending more time with each other. Your spouse could need more time to adjust than you do.

 

A Great List of Concepts to Keep in Mind as We Age

A Great List of Concepts to Keep in Mind as We AgeMany of us are between 60 and death, i.e. getting old.  Some people enjoy their lives in retirement more than others. Alan S. Bame created this excellent list for aging. This is a great list of concepts to keep in mind as we age and really for all ages.  I think there is some good advice in here to try to incorporate into our thinking! This is a great list of concepts to keep in mind as we age and how to get more out of life.

Concepts to Keep in Mind

Our first nine items on our Great List of Concepts to Keep in Mind as We Age are as follows:

1. It’s time to use the money you saved up. Use it and enjoy it.  Don’t just keep it for those who may have no notion of the sacrifices you made to get it. Remember there is nothing more dangerous than a son or daughter-in-law with big ideas for your hard-earned capital. Warning: This is also a bad time for investments, even if it seems wonderful or fool-proof. They only bring problems and worries. This is a time for you to enjoy some peace and quiet.

2. Stop worrying about the financial situation of your children and grandchildren, and don’t feel bad spending your money on yourself. You’ve taken care of them for many years, and you’ve taught them what you could. You gave them an education, food, shelter and support. The responsibility is now theirs to earn their own money.

3. Keep a healthy life, without great physical effort. Do moderate exercise (like walking every day), eat well and get your sleep. It’s easy to become sick, and it gets harder to remain healthy. That is why you need to keep yourself in good shape and be aware of your medical and physical needs. Keep in touch with your doctor, do tests even when you’re feeling well. Stay informed.

4. Always buy the best, most beautiful items for your significant other. The key goal is to enjoy your money with your partner. One day one of you will miss the other, and the money will not provide any comfort then, enjoy it together.

More to Consider

5. Don’t stress over the little things . You’ve already overcome so much in your life. You have good memories and bad ones, but the important thing is the present. Don’t let the past drag you down and don’t let the future frighten you. Feel good in the now. Small issues will soon be forgotten.

6. Regardless of age, always keep love alive. Love your partner, love life, love your family, love your neighbor and remember: “A man is not old as long as he has intelligence and affection.”

7. Be proud, both inside and out. Don’t stop going to your hair salon or barber, do your nails, go to the dermatologist and the dentist, keep your perfumes and creams well stocked. When you are well-maintained on the outside, it seeps in, making you feel proud and strong.

8. Don’t lose sight of fashion trends for your age, but keep your own sense of style . There’s nothing worse than an older person trying to wear the current fashion among youngsters. You’ve developed your own sense of what looks good on you – keep it and be proud of it. It’s part of who you are.

9. ALWAYS stay up-to-date. Read newspapers, watch the news. Go online and read what people are saying. Make sure you have an active email account and try to use some of those social networks. You’ll be surprised what old friends you’ll meet. Keeping in touch with what is going on and with the people you know is important at any age.

More – A Great List of Concepts to Keep in Mind as We Age

10. Respect the younger generation and their opinions. They may not have the same ideals as you, but they are the future, and will take the world in their direction. Give advice, not criticism , and try to remind them that yesterday’s wisdom still applies today.

11. Never use the phrase: “In my time.” Your time is now . As long as you’re alive, you are part of this time. You may have been younger, but you are still you now, having fun and enjoying life.

12. Some people embrace their golden years, while others become bitter and surly. Life is too short to waste your days on the latter. Spend your time with positive, cheerful people, it’ll rub off on you and your days will seem that much better. Spending your time with bitter people will make you older and harder to be around.

13. Do not surrender to the temptation of living with your children or grandchildren (if you have a financial choice, that is). Sure, being surrounded by family sounds great, but we all need our privacy. They need theirs and you need yours. If you’ve lost your partner (our deepest condolences), then find a person to move in with you and help out. Even then, do so only if you feel you really need the help or do not want to live alone.

Additional Areas To Think About

14. Don’t abandon your hobbies. If you don’t have any, make new ones. You can travel, hike, cook, read, dance. Consider adopting a cat or a dog, grow a garden, play cards, checkers, chess, dominoes, golf. You can paint, volunteer or just collect certain items. Find something you like and spend some real time having fun with it.

15. Even if you don’t feel like it, try to accept invitations. Baptisms, graduations, birthdays, weddings, conferences. Try to go. Get out of the house, meet people you haven’t seen in a while, experience something new (or something old). But don’t get upset when you’re not invited. Some events are limited by resources, and not everyone can be hosted. The important thing is to leave the house from time to time. Go to museums, go walk through a field. Get out there.

Chose any or all of these items to help get the most out of life. A Great List of Concepts to Keep in Mind as We Age continues.

16. Be a conversationalist. Talk less and listen more. Some people go on and on about the past, not caring if their listeners are really interested. That’s a great way of reducing their desire to speak with you. Listen first and answer questions, but don’t go off into long stories unless asked to. Speak in courteous tones and try not to complain or criticize too much unless you really need to. Try to accept situations as they are . Everyone is going through the same things, and people have a low tolerance for hearing complaints. Always find some good things to say as well.

Even More

17. Pain and discomfort go hand in hand with getting older. Try not to dwell on them but accept them as a part of the cycle of life we’re all going through. Try to minimize them in your mind. They are not who you are, they are something that life added to you. If they become your entire focus, you lose sight of the person you used to be.

18. If you’ve been offended by someone – forgive them. If you’ve offended someone – apologize. Don’t drag around resentment with you. It only serves to make you sad and bitter. It doesn’t matter who was right. Someone once said: “Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die.” Don’t take that poison. Forgive, forget and move on with your life.

19. If you have a strong belief, savor it. But don’t waste your time trying to convince others. They will make their own choices no matter what you tell them, and it will only bring you frustration. Live your faith and set an example. Live true to your beliefs and let that memory sway them.

* 20. Laugh. Chuckle A LOT. Laugh at everything. Remember, you are one of the lucky ones *. You managed to have a life, a long one. Many never get to this age, never get to experience a full life. But you did. So what’s not to laugh about? Find the humor in your situation.

21. Take no notice of what others say about you and even less notice of what they might be thinking. They’ll do it anyway, and you should have pride in yourself and what you’ve achieved. Let them talk and don’t worry. They have no idea about your history, your memories and the life you’ve lived so far. There’s still much to be written, so get busy writing and don’t waste time thinking about what others might think. Now is the time to be at rest, at peace and as happy as you can be!

AND, REMEMBER: “Life is too short to drink bad wine.”

For more about Lifestyle Decisions to improve our lives in retirement, click here. If you know of additional ideas that we can add to our Great List of Concepts to Keep in Mind as We Age, please leave a comment. We would be happy to add them to the list.

 

Retirement is a Dangerous Time for Many People

Retirement is a Dangerous Time for Many PeopleThere are many factors that consumers should consider when they retire whether it is by choice or they are forced to retire through downsizing or economic upheaval. Suddenly they are not going to work any longer. They do not see their friends and they may have lost their reason for being. Their self-image was tied too much to the job and now they are stuck at home with nothing to do. Sure there are hobbies, golf and the repair jobs around the home. These run out over time and perhaps are boring when there is no challenge. This is when retirement is a dangerous time for many people! They gain weight, their blood pressure goes up and they are stressed for no apparent reason. These are all indicators of health problems that may get worse.

Retirement is a Dangerous Time for Many People

Common sense says that humans cannot really sit around and do nothing without getting into some kind of trouble. In this case, we are discussing a retired person without anything to do, not stimulated, bored and letting their activity level decline. This is a recipe for going to a senior home or worse.

Every person knows themselves the best. If you do not have hobbies and do not want any, go back to work or volunteer. Gain the personal interaction back that you crave. You may even make a little bit of money while doing this work. If your volunteering, you never know where it will lead.

The writer is a retired person and is busy investigating what works for them.  Teaching myself to first code HTML and then later build websites with a content management system like WordPress was the challenge and stimulation I needed. Although it is a hobby that interests me, it also pays a little bit as well. Enough for my coffee in the morning!

The point is to find something that keeps your mind working, your body exercising and something you find challenging. This is the best way to avoid the Retirement is a Dangerous Time for Many People syndromes.

For more posts about life style and seniors, click here.

Seniors Saying Yes too Often are Getting Into Financial Trouble

Money Management for KidsMore and more often we are hearing about seniors saying yes too often. They are getting into financial trouble and then have nowhere to turn. Some may be supporting elderly parents who themselves do not have sufficient funds. They have to pay for their own health care in long term stay homes. Then there are the children who used to a life of never wanting for anything. They expect the same thing as grownups. They forget that their parents worked hard for the money and saved before they bought a big home, car etc. We see many of our friends dealing with these issues. They agonize over how much money to hand out. Should they give money now and jeopardize their retirement?

Why are Seniors Saying Yes too Often are Getting Into Financial Trouble

In most situations, they just want to help their family members now while they are still alive. If they help them now they can also enjoy what their financial gifts have purchased for their kids. Quite often it is the children putting pressure on the parents for them to help out.

Perhaps a down payment on a home or a new car. There credit card bills are due and they need help paying the bills. It might even be verbally worded as a loan, however one the money is given, most never see a penny back again. If you do give money to a family member, assume you will never see it again. If you do it is a bonus.

Can You Give Away Too Much Money

Seniors sometimes give too much money away. Then they find that they are living longer than anticipated and run out of funds to pay for whatever expenses they have. Many are forced to take roommates, move in with the kids or just downsize to a one-room apartment. If only they had been more careful with their money and perhaps had held back a bit. If only their kids were now in a financial situation to help them now.

Sadly, the money is gone and no one has enough to support their parents in this kind of situation. The answer is that every senior should evaluate the impact of loaning or giving money to a family member. Will it impact their lifestyle or quality of life in the future? What will be the impact if you never see this money again?

Make plans now to set up a budget. Ensure that you will have the funds you need to pay all of your bills and living expenses. Then if you think you will have money left over, you might consider gifting funds to your family while still alive.

For more information on lifestyle issues and retirement, click here.

The FUTURE is approaching NOW

the future is approaching nowThe FUTURE is approaching so fast that they cannot handle it. Many people who read science fiction, will already realize that some of the things that were mentioned in science fiction books a few years ago are now a reality. The FUTURE is approaching NOW and we better hang on to our hats because it will only speed up! Technology will change everything. If you brought someone from even 50 years ago into the present time, they would be shocked at the devices we have and how our lives have changed.

In 1998, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85% of all photo paper worldwide.
Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and they went bankrupt.

What happened to Kodak will happen in a lot of industries in the next 10 years and, most people won’t see it coming. Did you think in 1998 that 3 years later you would never take pictures on film again?

Yet digital cameras were invented in 1975. The first ones only had 10,000 pixels but followed Moore’s law. So as with all exponential technologies, it was a disappointment for a time, before it became way superior and became mainstream in only a few short years. It will now happen again with Artificial Intelligence, health, autonomous and electric cars, education,3Dprinting, agriculture and jobs. Welcome to the 4th Industrial Revolution. Welcome to the Exponential Age.

The FUTURE is approaching NOW

The software will disrupt most traditional industries in the next 5-10 years.
Uber is just a software tool, they don’t own any cars, and are now the biggest taxi company in the world.

Airbnb is now the biggest hotel company in the world, although they don’t own any properties.
Artificial Intelligence: Computers become exponentially better in understanding the world. This year, a computer beat the best Go player in the world, 10 years earlier than expected.
In the US, young lawyers already don’t get jobs. Because of IBM’s Watson, you can get legal advice (so far for more or less basic stuff) within seconds, with 90% accuracy compared with 70% accuracy when done by humans.

So if you study law, stop immediately. There will be 90% fewer lawyers in the future, only specialists will remain.

Watson already helps nurses diagnosing cancer, its 4 times more accurate than human nurses.
Facebook now has a pattern recognition software that can recognize faces better than humans. In 2030, computers will become more intelligent than humans. (NEVER!/Albert)

Autonomous cars: In 2018 the first self-driving cars will appear for the public. Around 2020, the complete industry will start to be disrupted. You will not want to own a car anymore. Consumers will call a car with your phone, it will show up at your location and drive you to your destination.

You will not need to park it, you only pay for the driven distance and can be productive while driving.

Our kids will never get a driver’s license and will never own a car.

It will change the cities because we will need 90-95% fewer cars for that. We can transform former parking spaces into parks.

Fewer Accidents

1.2 million people die each year in car accidents worldwide. We now have one accident every60,000 miles (100,000 km), with autonomous driving that will drop to 1 accident in 6million miles (10 million km). That will save a million lives each year.
Most car companies will probably become bankrupt. Traditional car companies try the evolutionary approach and just build a better car, while tech companies (Tesla, Apple, Google) will do the revolutionary approach and build a computer on wheels.

Many engineers from Volkswagen and Audi; are completely terrified of Tesla.
Insurance companies will have massive trouble because, without accidents, the insurance will become 100x cheaper. Their car insurance business model will disappear.

Real estate will change. Because if you can work while you commute, people will move further away to live in a more beautiful neighborhood.

Electric cars will become mainstream about 2020. Cities will be less noisy because all new cars will run on electricity.

Electricity will become incredibly cheap and clean: Solar production has been on an exponential curve for 30 years, but you can now see the burgeoning impact.
Last year, more solar energy was installed worldwide than fossil. Energy companies are desperately trying to limit access to the grid to prevent competition from home solar installations, but that can’t last. Technology will take care of that strategy.

Desalination of Salt Water

With cheap electricity comes cheap and abundant water. Desalination of salt water now only needs 2kWh per cubic meter (@ 0.25 cents). We don’t have scarce water in most places, we only have scarce drinking water. Imagine what will be possible if anyone can have as much clean water as he wants, for nearly no cost. (wishful thinking???!!!)

Health: The Tricorder X price will be announced this year. There are companies who will build a medical device (called the “Tricorder” from Star Trek) that works with your phone, which takes your retina scan, your blood sample, and you breathe into it.

It then analyses 54 bio-markers that will identify nearly any disease.. It will be cheap, so in a few years, everyone on this planet will have access to world-class medical analysis, nearly for free Goodbye, medical establishment.

3D printing: The price of the cheapest 3D printer came down from $18,000 to $400 within 10years. In the same time, it became 100 times faster. All major shoe companies have already started 3D printing shoes.

Some spare airplane parts are already 3D printed in remote airports. The space station now has a printer that eliminates the need for the large number of spare parts they used to have in the past.

Smarter Smart Phones

At the end of this year, new smartphones will have 3D scanning possibilities. You can then 3D scan your feet and print your perfect shoe at home.
In China, they already 3D printed and built a complete 6-story office building. By 2027, 10% of everything that’s being produced will be 3D printed.

Business opportunities: If you think of a niche you want to go in, first ask yourself: “In the future, do I think we will have that?” and if the answer is yes, how can you make that happen sooner?

If it doesn’t work with your phone, forget the idea. And any idea designed for success in the20th century is doomed to failure in the 21st century.

Work: 70-80% of jobs will disappear in the next 20 years. There will be a lot of new jobs, but it is not clear if there will be enough new jobs in such a short time. This will require a rethink of wealth distribution.

Agriculture

There will be a $100 agricultural robot in the future. Farmers in 3rd world countries can then become managers of their field instead of working all day in their fields.

Aeroponics will need much less water. The first Petri dish produced veal is now available and will be cheaper than cow produced veal in 2018. Right now, 30% of all agricultural surfaces is used for cows. Imagine if we don’t need that space anymore.

There are several start-ups who will bring insect protein to the market shortly. It contains more protein than meat. It will be labeled as an “alternative protein source” (because most people still reject the idea of eating insects).

There is an app called “moodies” which can already tell in which mood you’re in. By 2020 there will be apps that can tell by your facial expressions if you are lying. Imagine a political debate where it’s being displayed when they’re telling the truth and when they’re not.

Lifestyle Guidelines

The following statements are a series of lifestyle guidelines that more and more people are beginning to think about as they age. Health becomes more important than bling. Family has tremendous importance as well. What are your priorities?

As we grow older, and hence wiser, we slowly realize that wearing a $300.
or a $30.00 watch – – – – – – – they both tell the same time

Whether we carry a $300 or a $30.00 wallet/handbag – – – – – – – the amount of money inside is the same

Whether we drink a bottle of $300 or $10 wine – – – – – the hangover is the same

Whether the house we live in is 300 or 3000 sq. ft. – – – – – – loneliness is the same.

You will realize, your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world.

Whether you fly first or economy class, if the plane goes down – – – – – you go down with it

Therefore. I hope you realize, when you have mates, buddies and old friends, brothers and sisters, who you chat with, laugh with, talk with, have sing songs with, talk about north-south-east-west or heaven & earth ….. That is true happiness!!

FIVE UNDENIABLE FACTS OF LIFE:
1. Don’t educate your children to be rich.

Educate them to be Happy. So when they grow up they will know the value of things not the price.

2. Best awarded words in London …

“Eat your food as your medicines – otherwise you have to eat medicines as your food.”

3. The One who loves you will never leave you because even if there are 100 reasons to give up he or she will find one reason to hold on.

4. There is a big difference between a human being and being human. Only a few really understand it.

5. You are loved when you are born.

You will be loved when you die. In between, You have to manage!
If you just want to Walk Fast, Walk Alone!

But if you want to Walk Far, Walk Together!

lifestyle guidelines – SIX BEST DOCTORS IN THE WORLD:

  1.   Sunlight
  2.   Rest
  3.   Exercise
  4.   Diet
  5.   Self Confidence and
  6.    Friends

Maintain these lifestyle guidelines in all stages of Life and enjoy healthy life  The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for

Banks Failing to Stop Elder Abuse

Banks Failing to Stop Elder AbuseMost people are surrounded by a caring and loving family. As a result, the chances are that elder abuse will not be an issue for these people. On the other hand, many people are still taken advantage of by family members as well as scam artists. But the banks can help in a number of ways. Further with baby boomers aging banks failing to stop elder abuse in a financial sense is a real issue. The banks are assessing adding safeguards. They will monitor unusual amounts of money being withdrawn from accounts. They can alert appropriate people. As a senior, you have to tell the banks who they should contact and when. Above all there is a part for the senior and the caregiver to play here as well.

Banks Failing to Stop Elder Abuse

While the banks figure this out there are a number of things that individuals can do. First you can manage abuse of your own accounts or on accounts that you are managing for someone else. For example, all banks now offer email alerts that can be set at various thresholds. An email is sent to the specified address any time this threshold is exceeded.

This is an excellent way to keep track of what is going on in someones account if you are a caregiver. As a senior you may want to have more than one person manage the account. Moreover, this will help to avoid temptation for a single caregiver.

Make sure that there is a living will that specifies who can manage your affairs if you are incapacitated. Set up the safeguards as mentioned to avoid being scammed. Or finding that all of your money has been removed by someone who you trusted. Tell the bank who this person is. Add controls on the account to avoid large sums of money being removed without your knowledge.

Take control of the elder abuse possibility yourself. Avoid becoming a victim.

For more details about managing your lifestyle as we age, click here.

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How Long Should You Plan For Your Nest Egg to Last

How Long Should You Plan For Your Nest Egg to LastIn our last post we suggested that consumers should really try to assess how long should you plan for your nest egg to last. What this question is really asking is how long will you live? And also how long will your spouse live. No one really knows, however you can look for indicators such as how long your parents, uncles and aunts lived. This is a good indicator from a genetic perspective. There could be all kinds of external issues such as health and accidents, but you really have to ignore these. No one can tell what will happen in the next 5 minutes let alone years from now.

How Long Should You Plan For Your Nest Egg to Last

If you want to be conservative, take the average age of your parents and add at least 5 years to that life span to reflect we have better health care and we have lived generally in a healthier manner over the years.

Next take a look at your extended family to assess if there are any that lived significantly longer. Compare your health to that person and make an adjustment to the average number you calculated earlier with the 5 years also added.

If you plan to retire at a specific age, you now have an indicator of how long you need your savings to last. This answers the question of how long should you plan your nest egg to last. From here you can use a calculator of some kind that takes into account the income you should make on your investments and how much you should withdraw each year. Our previous post gave a simple method of calculating this number.

The longer answer is that you must take into account your investments, what income you can expect from them, what the inflation rate will be and how the markets will change over the years. This is a complicated calculation and most advisers will be happy to help you with developing a conservative answer.

If you are looking for more ideas about your life style decisions, click here.

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Retiring Abroad – Things to Know

Retiring AbroadThe first thing to realize when you are retiring abroad is that it is not a vacation. This is the place where you will be living for the foreseeable future. A home means lots of different things to many people. You cannot judge the location that you are moving to by the same criteria that you would when you plan to go on vacation for a couple of weeks. Yes, it should have some of the same criteria that you look for on a vacation: things to do, sandy beaches, warm temperatures, etc. Make your list and tick them off, but also include things like finding a doctor, dentist, hospital, banking, groceries, entertainment, hair stylist, etc. This is also part of moving and retiring abroad.

Retiring Abroad – No Place is perfect

Any location you retire to, will not be perfect, however, it should meet your retiring abroad criteria sufficiently that you are willing to overlook the other stuff. Some locations are really inexpensive e.g. Mexico, but the lifestyle and culture might be so different that you cannot deal with it. Then there is the language difference to deal with. Many people who retire abroad will simply overlook this angle, embracing instead the warm weather, the local culture, etc.

Comfort vs. Happiness is another area that many people strive for. Regardless of how comfortable the new location is, if you are missing the family it might not be that great. There are always solutions to your issues and one is to bring the family with you or at least have them visit often.

The World Is Not That Scary – although we hear of all kinds of things going on in the world, we have to remember that it is a big place and things happen somewhere every day. The important thing to remember is that you need to be street smart, hang around with like-minded people and stay away from bad neighborhoods. Just do the same things you would do at home.