Perhaps You Don't Need Any Money for Your Retirement

If you have purchased How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free and are now looking for great retirement quotes, go to The Retirement Quotes Cafe.

Now that you are retired, perhaps you don't need any money for retirement and can avoid debt management altogther.

Let me tell introduce you to a guy who has proven to himself that "money is an illusion."

He is a true 1 percenter who I really admire, a guy who is committed to what he believes in (unlike 99 percent of people who say they believe in something but their actions say otherwise).

Meet Daniel Suelo, a 21st-century hobo-philosopher. Meet The Man Who Quit Money and says:

“I know it is possible to live with zero money — Abundantly.”
— Daniel Suelo

If you don't want to purchase the book at the above link, first, read this article that was in a recent issue of the Globe and Mail.

Daniel Suelo - Money Is an Illusion to This 21st Century Hobo Philosopher

Then go and check out his website.

Living Without Money

Daniel Suelo's philosophy is really interesting. For example, he says that if he ever comes across any money on the street, he just walks on by without picking it up.

In short, a guy who walks the talk. But enlarge the photo of him on the Globe and Mail webpage and it says:

"Living in caves outside Moab, Utah, Daniel Suelo lives off of foraged plants, road kill and dumpster contents. He refuses to accept or spend currency."

Not a way I want to live but I admire the guy for his dedication to what he believes in.

Here are a few quotes about money to keep it in proper perspective so that it enhances your retirement and so that you don't need a retirement job:

"Money is good for bribing yourself through the inconveniences of life."
— Gottfried Reinhard

"Talented people get rich, and blockheads get rich. Intellectually brilliant people get rich, and very stupid people get rich. Physically strong people get rich, and and weak and sickly people get rich. Some degree of ability to think and understand is, of course, essential. But, in so far as natural ability is concerned, any man or woman who has sense enough to read and understand these words can certainly get rich."
— Wallace D. Wattles, in The Science of Getting Rich

"Money will appear when you are doing the right thing in your life."
— Michael Phillips

"Charity begins at home, but should not end there."
— Thomas Fuller

"Money is not the root of all evil. Even the love of money is not the root of all evil. The root of all evil is man's intense drive to survive, be right, make others wrong, dominate and manipulate. Money just happens to be worked conveniently into the process."
— Ron Smotherman in Winning through Enlightenment

"Money is good for bribing yourself through the inconveniences of life."
— Gottfried Reinhard

"The ownership of money and property comes as a result of doing things in a certain way. Those who do things in a certain way, whether on purpose or accidentally, get rich. Those who do not do things in this certain way, no matter how hard they work or how able they are, remain poor."
— Wallace D. Wattles, in The Science of Getting Rich

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

"One of the great astonishments of my life has been the discovery that actually you don’t need money to travel. You need enough credentials to get paid to travel.
— Gregg Levoy"

"People who don't have money, but dream about the day they'll hit it big, all too often are expecting something from financial excess that it can't bring them."
— Robert J. Ringer

Tips for Retirement from Great Retirement Experts

I received the following e-mail the other day as a result of my international selling book, How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free:

----- Original Message -----
From: Carlos Oliva
To: vip-books
Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2011 10:35 AM
Subject: From Chile, El Mercurio Newspaper

Dear whoever,

I'm Carlos Oliva, business reporter from El Mercurio Newspaper at Chile. I'm preparing an article about "tips to aging people from great finance experts". So, I woud like to ask some questions to Mr. Zelinski, according to his last book (How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free); May I? I will appreciate your answer asap.
--
saludos

Carlos Oliva Vega
Economía y Negocios
El Mercurio

After I replied to Carlos, he sent me his questions, which follow in bold, along with my answers in normal type for the respective questions:

1-Why do you think that retirement life means a perpetual smile in seniors’ face?

Retirement life can bring a perpetual smile to your face. The three most important character traits that will help you do this are:

1. Attitude
2. Attitude
3. Attitude

2-How important could be create a new identity? Why?

It is particularly important to create a new identity for people such as workaholics whose identity is all tied to work. When a workaholic retires, he or has no identity. So a new identity has to be created through some new purpose in life that has nothing to do with work.

3- What do you mean when you said that seniors need to crate a new structures and routines with their leisure?

Retired people should create their own structure and routine simply because most human beings like some structure and routine in their lives. The workplace provides structure and routine while people are working in their careers. When they retire they must create their own structure and routine, which will provide some sense of order in their lives. For those unable to this on their own, they may have to get a retirement job. Check out my retirement plan for how I intend to place structure in my retirement life.

4-How important is taking a joy course of personal growth?

If you don't include personal growth in your life, you stop growing as a human being. This passage from my new book applies:

"Be a Learner first,
a Master second,
and a Student always."
— from Life's Secret Handbook by Ernie Zelinski

5 -How important could be money for seniors?

No doubt money is important for retirement. Money and retirement go hand in hand. How much money a retiree needs for a happy retirement is another matter, however. Some people in North America, for instance, can be happy with a retirement income of $20,000 a year whereas some people require $100,000 or more. The important thing here is studies have shown that the most satisfying leisure activities don't cost a lot of money. So money is not as important as some people claim it is.

6- Do you think this [retirement] is an age to find happiness? How?

Retirement can be a time when you are happy. Ultimately, you are as happy as you want to be. Here is a passage from another book of mine that gives the prescription for happiness:

Prescription for Life-Long Happiness:
Purpose enough for satisfaction;
Sanity enough to know when to play and rest;
Wealth enough for basic needs;
Affection enough to like many and love a few;
Self-respect enough to love yourself;
Charity enough to give to others in need;
Courage enough to face difficulties;
Creativity enough to solve problems;Humor enough to laugh at will;
Hope enough to expect an interesting tomorrow;
Gratitude enough to appreciate what you have;
Health enough to enjoy life for all its worth.
— from The Lazy Person's Guide to Happiness

Note: See teacher retirement quotes on The Retirement Quotes Cafe:

Carlos later sent me this email:

----- Original Message -----
From: Carlos Oliva
To: Ernie Zelinski
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2011 12:59 PM
Subject: Re: From Chile, El Mercurio Newspaper


Hi Ernie. First of all, thanks for your answers. Second, I would like if you can explain us a little more this question:

-Retired people should create their own routine. Ok, but, How retirement can create this routine whitout job? Furthermore, May you give us a couple of tips?

cheers,
Carlos Oliva
El Mercurio Newspaper

This was my response to Carlos

Hi Carlos:

Regarding creating a routine in retirement, here is my routine:

I get up late in the morning, sometimes around noon. After I eat a bit of fruit, and shave, the first priority is doing some intensive exercise for at least one hour, preferably two hours. I either go for a bicycle ride or go running. Then after I take a shower, I go to a favorite coffee bar for two to three hours where I play (and sometimes work) on my laptop and talk to friends. Then I go home for an hour or two to eat a bit and mediate. Then I go to another coffee bar for two to three hours where again I play and work on my laptop and talk to friends. About 10 PM, I will buy some food at a grocery store, before goinig home. By the way, I very seldom watch T.V., because watching a lot of television is detrimental to a happy retirement. I can go for four months without turning the T.V. on even once. In fact, one of the topics in my book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free is: "You don’t have to watch one minute of TV when you retire — and perhaps you shouldn’t"

Anyway, I hope that helps.

Ernie Z.

The Truth about Retirement Planning That Will Set You Free Is the Truth You Don't Want to Hear

Here is a quotation that someone just posted on Facebook:

"The truth that sets men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear."
— Herbert Agar

Indeed, there are many truths that people don't want to hear.

For example, most Americans don't want to hear, as Newsweek stated, that the Nation as a whole has been complicit in a fraud. That is why it has such a debt problem and economy. Yet, depending who it is, most people will blame either Obama, George Bush, the Democrats, the Republicans, the banks, corporations, the unions, etc. These people will never blame themselves as a big part of the problem.

The same is the case with many Americans who now don't have enough money for retirement. Again, they will blame the various subjects above. And again, they won't blame themselves. But the reason they are broke in retirement and won't be able to do fun things in retirement can be explained in and by the title of Larry Wingate's book You're Broke Because You Want to Be. Of course, this is a truth that people don't want to hear and is a great way to achieve the goal of how to not retire rich.

Here is another truth people don't want to hear:

"Winners have simply formed the habit of doing things losers don't like to do."
— Albert Gray

Have your ever wondered how certain people get through life, let alone plan for retirement.

To make my point, here is an e-mail that I received from a reader of one of my books:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Vincent G
To: vipbooks
Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2011 4:31 PM
Subject: information

ernie enjoy both your retirement books i have a question i am retired now want to move to fla lease then buy i like to exericse and play the horses but because of ptsd have not left n.j. in 18 yrs tired of cold tried sites on laptop also new to that how to i start everytime i ask i got sell people in this market calling all the time sure i by a map i do not drive would to be by a good casino lease condo with running track and poool no beach thanks again love the books vinnie

The writer of the e-mail simply does not understand the concepts of decency, class, and excellence. Why would I reply to someone with such horrible writing skills? I am not big on perfection myself but people should learn to have respect for the people to whom they are sending e-mails.

Speaking of deceny, here is an e-mail that I just sent to someone who has taken a lot of the content off my retirement website and posted it on his.

The retirement poem "Making the Most of Retirement" by Dave Erhard on your Squidoo Lens is one that you took off my webpage The Retirement Poems Cafe.

This retirement poem is one of several retirement poems that I paid Dave Erhard for and is copyright material.

I am asking you to remove it immediatley.

If you do not do so, I will ask Squidoo to do it.

Thank you.

Ernie J. Zelinski
Best-Selling Author, Innovator, and Creativity Consultant
Author of the Bestseller How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 140,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and the International Bestseller The Joy of Not Working
(Over 250,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)

My Retirement Plan Is NOT Based on the Canada Pension Plan

Unlike the retirement plans of many Canadians, my retirement plan is not based on the proceeds from the Canada Pension Plan.

There are many reasons — but the main one is that this is just plain dumb.

Sure, the Canada Pension Plan is better than the American Social Security system in that it is a true trust fund where the American Social Security system is not (See Social Security Is a Secure Way )

Lately there has been a lot of debate in Canada about coming up with more retirement pension programs so people are better prepared for retirement.

Sociologists, bankers, and government officials are worried that the majority of Canadians won't have enough in their retirement plan portfolios to retire comfortably in the new retirement.

Some people have suggested expanding the mandatory Canada Pension Plan and others are suggesting a new voluntary retirement plan for the self-employed and for workers without a company pension plan.

This was one of my comments to an article regarding the Canada Pension Plan (CPP):

This was one of my comments to an article about the Canada Pension Plan in the Edmonton Sun:

"No doubt Ted Morton will get a great pension and that is a disgrace.

In fact, the generous pensions that all government workers get is a disgrace.

Plain and simple, the Canadian Pension Plan does not have to be expanded.

The worst part of the Canada Pension Plan is that it is a form of taxation.

If a single person pays $100,000 into the plan and dies at 59, the person's estate only gets a death benefit of $2,500.

Why expand the Canada Pension Plan when it rips people off?

Ultimately, a person should take full responsibility for their retirement and not rely on the government in any way, shape or form. That is what I have done. Any money that comes in is a bonus, coffee money, in other words.

Ernie J. Zelinski
Author of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(over 125,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)

Someone took issue to my comment and made these comment under the name "Don't Listen to Ernie":

Just where did "Ernie" find someone stupid enough to publish his book?

YMPE (the maximum amount of income one has to pay into CPP) for 2011 is going to be 48,300. The current contribution rate is 9.9% split between the employer and employee.

The ONLY that someone can contribute $100,000 is if they worked 42 years. But, oops, CPP only counts 35.

This person is obviously very ignorant.

So I posted this additional comment"

To: "Don't Listen to Ernie"

As a self-employed, I pay both the employers' and the employess' portion into the Canadian Pension Plan.

At 9.8 percent of maximum earnings this is $4,781 per year.

Multiply $4,781 by 35 years and the total is $119,542.

So who is the stupid person?

Regarding my book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free, it is the best-selling retirement book on Amazon.com in a saturated market, beating out name brand retirement books like the AARP Retirement Survival Guide and the Wall Street Journal Complete Retirement Guidebook.

How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free has sold over 130,000 copies for a reason.

Word-of-mouth advertising for this book from satisfied customers is what sells the book and will keep selling it for years to come while most retirement books are lucky to sell 5,000 copies in their lifetime. Many sell only 100 copies in their lifetime - and that is to family and friends.

In other words, results don't lie!

My retirement book rocks — not because I say so — but because the people who buy retirement books say so.

I have earned $550,000 in pre-tax profits from How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free and will earn hundreds of thousands more over the next few years.

Not too bad of a source of retirement income for my retirement plan — wouldn't you say?

I don't know about you, but I sure think that there are sure a lot of ignorant people out there.

Ever wonder about how these people get through life? They sure aren't sensationally creative, are they?

No wonder there are so many government programs and why certain factions feel more retirement planning programs are needed including expansion to the Canada Pension Plan.

Here are a few quotations about retirement and money saving tips to help you achieve your retirement number and prepare for a prosperous retirement:

Make money your devoted servant; otherwise, it will be an overbearing master.
— Italian proverb

"People who don't respect money don't have any."
— J. Paul Getty, Billionaire Oil Tycoon

"He who buys what he does not need steals from himself."
— Anon

"Getting money is like digging with a needle. Spending it is like water soaking into the sand."
— Japanese proverb

"Money will appear when you are doing the right things in your life."
— Michael Phillips

"When it comes to making more money, most people look at the world and see the same opportunity they’ve seen before: typically, a job. Because they don’t awaken their mind and expand their vision, they don’t see other opportunities. Yet opportunities do exist. So how do you change your thinking so you can see them? One way to jolt the brain out of its preconceived category thinking is to bombard it with new experiences."
— Joe Vitale

"He that lives upon hope will die fasting."
— Benjamin Franklin, The Way to Wealth

"We have 14 children, our primary backup for our retirement. The best investment ever."
— Anon, in response to article "Four ways 60-year-olds can save their retirement"

"With money you're a dragon; without it you're a worm."
— Chinese proverb

Ernie Z.

Running out of Retirement Income Scares Retirees More Than Dying

According to a recent survey of 3,200 baby boomers by Allianz Life Insurance Co, about 61 percent of retirees and soon-to-be retired say they fear outliving their retirement money more than they fear death.

What's more, 31 percent of these baby boomers said they don't know what their retirement expenses will be, and 36 percent have no idea if their retirement income will last.

In response to this survey, several financial and retirement writers have been advocating that baby boomers calculate how much retirment income they will need to retire comfortabley. In other words, they should find a good answer to the question, "How much do I need to retire?"

Following was my comment to an article in which someone was advocating that baby boomers spend some time calculating what their retirement expenses will be and how much retirement income they will need:

As you say, the exercise in determining how much money you will need for retirement will not result in perfect information.

But even if people could come up with perfect information, most people won't make use of this information because they aren't about to increase their savings much, if at all, and will likely need at least some type of retirement career.

There are two problem conditions that most North Americans suffer from:


1. A need is any luxury that their neighbor happens to have.

2. Instant gratification takes too long.

I have just started writing a book called How NOT to Retire BROKE in which I am going to make the point that saving 10 percent of your income is for amateurs and losers and people should save at least 40 perent of their income, like I started to do when I turned 45 because I had no money saved at that time.

Of course, I think I have done well by saving 40 percent of my income and not all that concerned about not having enough for retirement.

But I was delighted to hear that someone is doing even better with their saving rate.

On January 17, 2010, in reply to a blog post Five Reasons Why You Will Retire Broke and Unhappy, an individual who writes his or her own blog post stated:



"I personally am taking my retirement savings seriously and have by living very frugally been able to increase my savings to 60 percent of my gross earnings. I’m targeting a very early retirement. Achieving this high rate has been partly achieved by watching my Lifestyle Creep as you identify in Point 5. As I achieve pay increases I have actively decided not to change my standard of living."


In short, knowing how much money people need to retire comfortably will do them absolutely no good if they can't handle money. Saving for retirement takes handling money properly.

Now for one of my favorite retirement quotes:

It was J.P. Getty who said, "People who don't respect money don't have any."

Ernie J. Zelinski
Best-Selling Author, Innovator, and Creativity Consultant
Author of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 125,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and The Joy of Not Working
(Over 250,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)