Monday, January 25, 2010

Merrill Lynch to Spend $20 Million on Retirement Marketing Campaign

The recent Bank of America / Merrill Lynch Affluent Insights Quarterly survey, released found that about half (51 percent) of retirees would have focused more on their retirement life goals and less on retirement financial numbers when planning for retirement if they could do it all again.

These retiress who were surveyed indicated that they would have spent more time determining how they wanted to live in their retirement years (38 percent) and based their retirement income needs, not just on a number that would sustain them but on one that would help them live their ideal lifestyle during these years (13 percent).

Claire Huang, head of marketing for Bank of America Global Wealth Management, states, "Our latest research further shows how the recession has led to a renewed focus on core values that guide individuals in their retirement planning, such as family and friends, philanthropic endeavors and basic quality of life, health and wellness issues,"

Thus, Bank of America will spend roughly $20 million on its "help2retire______" campaign, which officially launches on Jan. 25, 2010, and runs through the end of April 2010.

The new, U.S.-based marketing campaign is designed to illustrate individuals' evolving retirement priorities and personal aspirations. The campaign encourages individuals to "fill in the blank" by identifying aspects of their working and financial lives that they want to put an end to, and to work with a Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor to help them focus on what matters most when planning for and during their retirement years.

For more information visit: visit http://www.ml.com/help2retire

For Funky Retirement Planning Resources by Ernie Zelinski , See:






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Friday, January 8, 2010

Save Now, Play Later


This e-mail was sent to me by a fan of my books:


    Subject: Words have meaning

    Hello Ernie,

    Gene Schoch here,

    I read a short article in AARP that I thought would interest you so I will reproduce it here for you.

    A Pension b Any Other Name Pension, it's a stodgy word.

    So boring that in a recent British survey , almost a fifth of 18-24 year olds said they had put off starting to save for retirement because they don't like the word.

    So AXA, the financial company that commissioned the survey, held a contest to find a more palatable word or phrase.

    Donna Wod, 29 of Hampshire, England submitted the winner: "Save Now, Play Later".

    AXA may use the phrase in marketing. Wood plans to save half of her 5,000 pound winnings. "

    I think it is interesting how words properly used can fit into a persons way of thinking and change what he/she does.

    Your books [How to Retire Happy ,Wild, and Free and The Joy of Not Working] state this in the way 'Plan now, play now & later", funny how it is all in the mind.

    Regards,

    Gene
Check out:

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Sunday, January 3, 2010

Top-10 Retirement Gifts


From the Webpage Retirement Gifts on The Retirement Cafe here are the Top-10 Material Retirement Gifts for Retirees:


Here are some quotes relating to retirement gifts:

    Retirement gifts always make a retiree feel special.
    — Kevin Stith

    The greatest [retirement] gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles,
    it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and
    experience of a wide kind. It is a moral illumination.
    — Elizabeth Hardwick

    Each day provides its own [retirement] gifts.
    — Marcus Aurelius

    May you have the greatest two [retirement] gifts of all on these holidays; someone
    to love and someone who loves you.
    — John Sinor

    You can say it with flowers
    You can say it with wine
    But to make her stinkin' sentimental
    Say it with a Lincoln Continental.
    — Robert Byrne
For more retirement gift ideas see:
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

10 Years of Success



At times I take stock of my accomplishments, just to remind myself of what I can possibly accomplish in the future.

With the last decade coming to an end in a few days, it's appropriate for me to what I have accomplished in the last 10 years.

Personal Accomplishments and Adventure:

  • Continued another 10 years of freedom to work either at my favorite coffee places or at home.

  • Have traveled to New York, Las Vegas, Istanbul, and London in the last year.

  • Finanally purchased the diggs that I have lived in for over 30 years. Despite purchasing the half-duplex for $325,000 with a down payment of $163,000 in 2007 at the height of the market, I will have it fully paid off by April 2011.

  • Have continued to make an average of 4 trips a year to Vancouver, which I consider my second home.

Business Accomplishments

  • Wrote How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free, which was rejected by over 35 Canadian, American, and British publishers. After self-publishing the book, I have earned a little over $405,000 in pretax profit from the book, which has now sold over 110,000 copies and has been published in 9 langauges.

  • Wrote half of The Lazy Person's Guide to Success, quit at that point, and almost didn't finish it. I eventually finished the book which has been published in about 10 languages and has sold over 85,000 copies worldwide.

  • Wrote Career Success Without a Real Job (called Real Success Without a Real Job in its original version).

  • Just completed my new book The Joy of Being Retired: 365 Reasons Why Retirement Rocks (and Work Sucks!), which should make me tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. If it doesn't I will use is as a Promotional Giveaway.


  • Negotiated at least 70 more book deals for a total of over 107 book deals around the world.

  • Had over 5 years where my pre-tax income was $100,000 a year. Not to bad given that I work 4 or 5 hours a day at my favorite coffee place and don't have to deal with corporate life.

I have also started over 25 websites including:

Here is the car I intend to purchase for Ernie Zelinski in 2010 as a reward for his accomplishments:

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Retirement Sayings about Retirement Savings


Fewer Canadians are putting money into retirement plans, according to the Royal Bank's annual RRSP poll.

At the same time, the Toronto Star says, "Canada's pension system is inadequate and lags behind other advanced industrial countries in providing decent income security for retired workers. "

The RB annual RRSP polls says 32 per cent of Canadians have not started saving for retirement yet, compared to 24 per cent in 2008. The study also found only 36 per cent say they are planning or have planned for retirement, down from 42 per cent in 2008.

The decline is sharpest among those aged 55 and over, with 53 per cent doing any retirement planning compared to 67 per cent last year.

RBC also says just 35 per cent of Canadians have contributed to or plan to contribute to an RRSP for the 2009 tax year - the lowest percentage of contributors since 1996.

Here are some retirement sayings and retirement quotes to place retirement planning in perspective:

    I retired early for health reasons — my company was sick of me and
    I was sick of them.
    — Unknown wise person

    I’m now as free as the breeze — with roughly the same income.
    — Unknown wise person

    I’m retired. You on the other hand have to go to work.
    — Unknown wise person

    The money’s no better in retirement but the hours are!
    — Unknown wise person


See:










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