Fools and Their Money Make for a Tough Retirement

It is amazing how many retirement news articles focus on the how a majority baby boomers will face a gruesome retirement.

Now, this is not that surprising considering how most baby boomers were fools were their money.

These are the same baby boomers who thought they were so special.

Ever notice how people who think that they are so special are usually cool and broke. In other words they don't manage money very well.

"People who don't respect money," said J. Paul Getty, "don't have any."

What's more, the U.S. Government has not managed money any better.

This comes from Flood of Retirees Nudges Social Security to the Brink (February 23, 2010 on theTrumpet.com)

“Congress fiddles while the budget burns.”

Since Social Security was adjusted in 1984 to collect more money in payroll taxes than it paid out, the program accumulated a $2.5 trillion trust fund. But those surplus dollars were diverted into other programs, and are now long gone. The collapse could not have come at a worse time for Washington. Not only has Social Security’s lending pool evaporated, but the program has deteriorated into a vicious drain.

So, for the first time in 25 years, Social Security is on the brink. And analysts forecast that the situation is still far from the nadir of its descent. The diseased system may seem like a recent phenomenon, but the collapse has been long in the making. Politicians have been borrowing from the surplus fund for decades, and using creative bookkeeping to avoid registering the deficits into our fiscal imbalances. The foundation of this severe deficit crisis was dug by years of spending reserve funds that were already spoken for.

Here are some quotes about money to put money in proper perspective:

You are only as rich as the enrichment you bring to the world around you.
- Rajesh Setty

No matter how rich you become, how famous or powerful, when you die the size of your funeral will still pretty much depend on the weather.
— Michael Pritchard

How easy it is for a man to die rich, if he will be contented to live miserable.
- Henry Fielding

“We have a balance of $0.32 in the bank … Which made us four-and-a-half trillion dollars richer than the federal government.”
— Jim Borgman

Here are some retirement resources to help you retire happy, wild, and free:

Best Places to Retire Happy

Retirement Planning on The Retirement Cafe

Sample Retirement Letters for the Soon-to-Be Retired

Retirment Planning for Bad Spellers

Fulfilling Things to Do in Retirement

I received the following e-mail the other day:

----- Original Message -----
From: Saumya Chandra
To: Ernie Zelinski
Sent: Friday, February 12, 2010 11:58 PM
Subject: Retirement Book.


Dear Ernie,

My father has retired from a top executive position last December. Although he is doing fine, he is also looking for other opportunities, but I am afraid that he is a bit sad about not having anything fruitful to do. I want to help him figure out many different useful, meaningful and fulfilling things that he can do with his time now. I wanted to know which ones of your books might help me with it. It will be great help if you can let me know about it.

ALso, I am in India, so do not know if I can printed version will be available here. Is there a PDF version online that I can purchase?

If you know of any other online resources that I can point him to - it will be great to know.

Thanks.

Really looking forward to hear back from you,
Saumya

This was my reply:

Hi Saumya:

I would recommend both of my retirement books:



How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free

The Joy of Not Working


You cannot purchase a PDF version of the whole book for either book.

However, you can download sample PDF's with parts of both books at:

Creative Free E-books

But there is good news. How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free has been published in in English in India my Macmillan India. So it should be fairly easy for you to get it.

Here is the link where the book is featured:


http://www.macmillanindia.com/book-details.asp?from=gr&bookid=3240&broadid=47&detailedid=93&category=General+%26+Reference&broadsubject=General&detailedsubject=&page=search


And here is a brief review that was published in The Telegraph based in Calcutta.


How to retire Happy, Wild, and Free (Macmillan, Rs 295) by Ernie J. Zelinski provides “retirement wisdom that you won’t get from your financial advisor”. The advises range from “move to a college town” to “plant your get-a-life tree and watch it grow and grow”. But the real enjoyment comes from the cartoons, and quotes such as, “the time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time”.



Many thanks for your interest in my books.

So long for now,

Ernie J. Zelinski
Best-Selling Author, Innovator, and Unconventional Career Expert
Author of the Bestseller How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 110,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and the International Bestseller The Joy of Not Working
(Over 225,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)

http://www.retirement-cafe.com
http://www.retirement-quotes.com
http://www.how-to-retire-happy.com

VIP BOOKS

Here are my three latest posts on websites or blogs:

SPONSORSHIP IS ALL ABOUT PROFITS - THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!


10 Reasons to Never Work at a Real Retirement Job When You Retire


Retirement Letters to Announce Your Liberation from Corporate Life

Hawaii - It's Part of My Retirement Plan Too

I recently received this e-mail:

----- Original Message -----
From: Tom
To: Ernie Zelinski
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 4:08 AM
Subject: Hey Ernie Z., An Interesting Story?...

Hey Ernie,

This is Tom. I e-mailed you a long way back, about one year ago, and you sent me the book 101 Really Important Things You Already Know, But Keep Forgetting.

I'll admit it, I'm in a little bit of a panic, but that's just for background info, I'm not trying to make it someone else problem.

Could you give me your reaction to the below scenario that is happening right now in my life? Just whatever you come up with, I'm asking you b/c I like what you write and yours (and ppl like yours) way of thinking.

I bought a ticket to Hawaii. Leaves in 2 weeks. Round trip for 3 months. I will have less that 1000 cash when I land there, no room lined up, no job lined up, and I don't have a money making website or anything like that. I'm 32, I have a social anxiety disorder. 6 months ago I quit my job at Costco, and the landlord (I'm renting a room) I think wants me to get a job. I'd rather chew gravel than work hourly again. I'm selling/donating all of my stuff and reducing all that I own to one backpack.

I know you never suggested anything like what I'm doing, but am I mad? Also, am I being selfish? To live in Hawaii, scrounge for shelter and food, probably go hungry some of the time (I've practices, it's a little scary, but only a little painful), is this wrong? Is it crazy? Am I just trying to take the easy way, before setting up my way to make money? I feel really immature, not like a 32 year old, for doing this. It's kind of embarrassing to admit what I'm going to do.

Why am I doing this? B/c I want to find out what my vocation is, I want to feel what it's like to be homeless. I don't like having a job and worrying all the time "what if" I go homeless. If these 3 months don't kill me I may learn a lot about who I am. But I can't shake the feeling that I need to get a JOB and pay RENT and make everyone happy. I can't shake the feeling that it looks like I'm just ditching my back pay rent obligation, when I am not. I have every intention of paying.

I've had this social anxiety disorder/panic attack disorder thingy for 12 years. I'm in psychic/physical pain all the time, it really stunts my growth as a person. It looks like I'm going no where with my BS degree, I'm scared of everything. As soon as I settled down in a new job (about 2 1/2 years ago) the panic came back stronger. It's like when I settle down, and start doing things like some kind of NORMAL citizen, I start to get even more panicky. But when things look uncertain, and when I'm moving about, and who knows what's going to happen, I start to feel more relaxed, like I like the chaos or something.

I'm not guessing you'll give me a solution for 12 years of suffering, but I value your opinion, your gut instinct. I can cancel my ticket by 10 PM tomorrow (Monday the 1st). I'm really thinking about it. I'm thinking of canceling it and "GROWING UP" and stop just thinking about "MYSELF" and somehow working on a money making website (even if it takes a whole year) before doing something as foolish as this.

I hope you know stress about this, b/c all I want is just your gut reaction. I've read you books, and also "The 4 Hour Work Week". I have the "I'm going to live in a backpack and travel" thing down, I just don't have the "how am I going to get food and shelter without mooching off of peoples self pity" thing down.

Go ahead, lay it on my, what is you gut instinct say when you read the above? Obviously, I don't think many would approve or recommend what I'm doing. Btw, I love the beach, and I don't particularly like the cold.

Thank you in advance for any words you could give me. I'm serious, and I don't want to seem rude or take up your energy, but you seem like the person with an answer when it comes to this sort of problem.

Tom

Here was my reply:

Hi Tom:

Wow! Yes, yours is an interesting story.

First, I have an urge to go to Hawaii also, but just for two or three months in the winter. I have never been there. By the way, I am just re-reading The 4-Hour Workweek!

See these two links about my intention to go to Hawaii:


Hawaii Here I Come:

My Retirement Plan (See point 4 in my retirement plan)

Now to the crux of the matter:

Are you an American or a Canadian?

I can see why you want to go to Hawaii. It is a great place for some people. About 5 years ago I met a guy about 45 years old from Stetler, Alberta, who told me that he had gone to Hawaii 17 years before I met him on vacation. He loved it so much that he decided to stay and had lived there ever since. He was in Edmonton just for a brief vacation and heading back to Hawaii. I am not sure how he managed to work there all those years given the fact that he was Canadian. But he said that after 17 years he was accepted as a local by all the native Hawaiians.

No doubt certain people can live joyfully without the need for normal social structure.

I always remember Eckhart Tolle writing in The Power of Now about how he, in his own words, "lived in a state of almost continuous anxiety interspersed with periods of suicidal depression" until he was 30 years old. Then one night he had this incredible experience that created an incredible mental shift. After that, again in his own words, "A time came when, for a while, I was left with nothing on the physical plane. I had no relationships, no job, no home, no socially defined identity. I spent almost two years on park benches in a state of most intense joy."

So if Eckhart Tolle can survive for two years in Vancouver without a job, a home, or even a socially defined identity in total mental bliss, certainly, individuals can do it in Hawaii.

If you read my The Lazy Person's Guide to Success , I talk about how I moved to Vancouver in 1989/1990 for the winter to make it as a creativity seminar presenter. I was making only $500 a month teaching a course and my rent was $650 a month. After 8 months I was even more in debt and I came crawling back to Edmonton. But things worked out after that without my having to get a regular job. There were some tough times but I survived.

Having said that, I am not an expert in figuring out if you can make things work out.

Heck, I can't even figure out if I could make things work out for myself in Hawaii. So, I asked some of my good friends to contribute their advice about your situation:

Here is advice from my friend Jim:


I would simply tell him, "Tom, it seems that whatever you've been doing with your life so far just isn't working (no pun intended) so a dramatic change of direction might be in order. You're young, you're searching for answers to a whole series of personal questions and dilemmas, and it sounds like you don't really have much to lose so what's at risk by heading off to Hawaii? Whether or not the American authorities will allow you to work there is another question, let alone live there for any length of time. But if you're going to wing it somewhere, Hawaii is as good a place as any.... you may starve to death but at least you won't freeze to death and what could be more appropriate or desirable than expiring in Paradise? Hopefully that won't happen. Who knows? ... you might even find yourself or at least more than you've found so far by trying to conform to a more "normal lifestyle." That seems to have been as comfortable for you as running a marathon with size 12 feet squeezed into a pair of size 8 runners. Give it a go. If it doesn't pan out, you've still got a return ticket and you won't be tormented by "what ifs" and "if I had onlys".

Here is my friend Todd's opinion:


Tell him to GO! If his ticket is already paid for then what has he got to loose? The back rent will still be there for him to deal with if he fails and has to return. If he is a success then it won't matter and he can send a cheque to cover the back rent.

Whatever he is doing now is not working, so almost anything else would be better (except fishing for sharks with tow line tied to your nipples).

If he needs a place to stay a block off of Waikiki beach for $25 a night, let me know. I know of a flop house sort of B&B where students go to stay for months at a time for cheap and work their way around the world. It is $25 per night, but he might be able to work a better deal if he is staying longer. If he does nothing while there, his $1000 will still last him 40 nights and it will be the best 40-day vacation that he could ever have living a block off of Waikiki beach in the hottest part of Oahu.

At that rate, if he can find a job raking lawns for $25 a day he could live there for ever. In time, his social anxiety will work itself out living in one of the tourist capitals of the world.

Carpe Diem,

The two opinions above are tempered by my friend Sandra who lived in Hawaii for a few months on two occasions:


He will not freeze or starve as he can eat the fresh fruit, however, he will not be able to just live on the beach and under the stars...he may want to sell his stuff rather than donating it so he has more money. However, he has to do what he has to do and he has his own soul journey....I would wish him luck... Cheers Sandy

So, Tom it's up to you.

I wish you the best.

Let me know how you make out.

If you make things work, many people besides me will be envious of you.

So long for now,

Ernie Z.

Here are some retirement planning resources to help people like Tom take early retirement or a mini-retirement:

Career Success Without a Real Job by VIP BOOKS

Best Promotional Giveaway for Corporations to Give to People Like Tom

Dream Retirement Jobs

Viral Marketing for Your Book

Best Places to Retire Happy

See the Update for:

The Porsche Boxster S Challenge

Ready for Retirement

The other day I came across this blog post on http://butwhatnow.com/ :

The Retirement Guru – Ernie J. Zelinski

I am reading 2 books at the same time. One is by my bedside and the other by my chair in the living room. Both are helping me to achieve some sort of peace of mind right now. They are both by Ernie Zelinski and I wholeheartedly recommend both.

I am so ready for retirement, it is painful to go to work every day and put up with the petty office politics, mindless reactions to human nature and pressure from those above me who are so pressured I’m not sure how they’ll make it another 10 years or more.

Some people cannot fathom not having a job. I am not one of them. At this point I am considering therapy to make it through the rest of my days working at this tedious job. I am surrounded by dissatisfied people, including those who, like me, used to enjoy their jobs.

It’s just not fun anymore.

As of today, I have 444 days left before my first possible opportunity for retirement. I am too close to just chuck it all tomorrow and tell these fools that I am through. There are benefits I would lose. There was a time I enjoyed my job, but what was once a place where I felt a technical camaraderie with peers is now a place so full of administrative hurdles and hassles that I don’t know how I’m going to make it through another year without being fired.

If you are retired now or thinking about retiring someday, if you are not even close to retirement but are not happy with your current job, if you think you can never retire because you’ll be bored to tears… You must read these books.

The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed and Overworked- 21st Century Edition

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

From the same blog here is a retirement quote:

Viva la retirement, grab it by the horns and go for it.
- Cheryl Marland

And here are some other retirement quotes and resources for retirement:

Retirement Party Ideas

Retirement Cake Sayings and Party Ideas

Retirement Sentiments

Happy Retirement Sentiments

Retirement Poems

Poems for Retirement

Early Retirement

Reasons to Retire Early - Top 10

Retirement Quotations and Retirement Sayings

Funny Retirement Quotes

Retirement Poems

Funny Retirement Poems

Retirement Party Ideas

Ideas for Retirement Parties

Retirement Wishes and Cake Sayings

Snappy Retirement Wishes

Retirement is wonderful. It's doing nothing without worrying about getting caught at it.
— Gene Perret

I don't know what old is yet. I'm "only" 63, so it must be at least 70 or more.
— UNKNOWN WISE PERSON

In retirement, every day is Boss Day and every day is Employee Appreciation Day.
— Unknown wise person

As I get on in years, I also realize that I want wisdom, not knowledge; that I value being right with people more than simply being right; that I want to fight the battles that to me really matter. Growing older also means reaching out, doing things for people who’re in settings less fortunate than those I’m in.
— Singapore Retiree CHUA CHONG JIN