Earning Retirement Income from a Retirement Job That You Love

Perhaps you are retired and searching for a retirement job that you love and from which you can earn a great retirement income.

I receivied the following e-mail the other day:

----- Original Message -----
> From: Connie S.
To: vipbooks
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 11:56 PM
Subject: Career Success Without a Real Job

Mr. Zelinski,

I recently purchased your book and it seems to have been written for me since I quit my job a few months ago. I've been working for insurance for 26 years and have hated every moment. Have not finished your book yet but do you go over how to find what I can do to find the work that makes me happy?

Thanks in advance for your response.

Connie

This was my response to Connie:

Hi Connie:

Regarding finding work that makes you happy, there are several books written on this topic including How to find Work You Love by Laurence Boldt.

You may also want to watch the latest promotional videos by Brendon Burchard, who in my opinion is the top consultant, internet marketer, and motivational speaker in the business today. I have paid to attend one of Brendon's three-day Seminars and he over delivers.

But as you will see, there is a lot of valuable on the videos he will be posting in the next week or two and some of it will be about earning residual income working at your passion. (You likely have to opt-in and then you will receive e-mails of details of the next videos as they are posted).

Earning a Great Income from Your Passions

Thanks and so long for now.

Ernie J. Zelinski
Best-Selling Author, Innovator, and Prosperity Life Coach
Author of the Bestseller How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 150,000 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

Writing a Book in Retirement

Perhaps you will want to write a book when you retire or even while you are working to use as a means for saving for retirement.

Incidentally, 81 percent of Americans and even a larger percentage of Britons want to write a book.

If you have always wanted to write a book but haven't, what's your excuse?

Whatever your excuse, keep these excerpts from one of my new books in mind:

"Any excuse, even a lousy one, is good enough if you don't want to do something,
regardless of how important it is for your happiness and prosperity."
— from Life's Secret Handbook

"Every excuse that you make is just another way for you to choose mediocrity instead of excellence, failure instead of success, discontent instead of satisfaction, and just getting by financially instead of experiencing true prosperity."
— Life's Secret Handbook

"When you finally do whatever has to be done to attain true prosperity, it's just like magic! You no longer find yourself repeating annoying excuses to your friends about why you are in debt and not prosperous enough to pay your bills."
— Life's Secret Handbook

Even if you are illiterate, this is still just an excuse and not a good reason for not having written a book.

To make my point, read this story at the below about how Jim Henry at 91 was illiterate. Then he learned how to read and write. Seven years later — at the age of 98 — he wrote a book!

98 Old Retiree Writes a Book

So what's your excuse again?

I hope your answer is "None!"

If your answer is none, at least you have some hope of writing a book such as my How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free that may not only give you great satisfaction from having written, but also that earns you some additional retirement income for many years to come.

A Retirement Job That Can Give You a Great Retirement Income

The complainers of this world keep talking how hard it is to make it financially in this world and the lack of opportunity today to create a great retirement income.

These are the same people, including at least 25 percent of baby boomers in the U.S. and Canada, who are going to be broke in their retirement, living at the poverty line from Government handouts.

That is a total of 22 million baby boomers by the way. Generation X and Generation Y won't fare any better.

Yet there is incredible opportunity in this world regardless of the economy.

If you are looking for a retirement job that can pay off big time, I invite you to read this blog post about a guy who can't move any of his body from the neck down who is making a great living.

A Great Retirement Job: How to Quit Your Job, Move to Paradise and Get Paid to Change the World

Fact is, I think that most people have a lot of control of when and where they retire.

All they have to do is take 100 percent responsibility for their lives — 98 percent or 99 percent is far too little!

Taking 100 responsibility means not counting on the government or anyone else for your retirement income.

The key is to save 30 to 50 percent of your income when you make a good income instead of spending it on crap like most people do.

I didn't start saving for my retirement until I was in my early forties and I will be okay in retirement. The reason is that I saved 40 to 50 percent of my pretax income.

Here are the two major reasons a lot of British, Canadian, and American retirees don't have enough money for retirement:

1. Instant gratification takes too long.
   



2. A necessity is any luxury the neighbor happens to have.

Here are some money quotes to help you with your retirement plans:

Like the truth, retirement can set you free. Or, like work, retirement can imprison you.
— from How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free

Planning not to retire is simply not a viable retirement strategy.
— Catherine Collinson, president of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies

If we wait until retirement to enjoy ourselves, there may not be enough of ourselves to enjoy it.
— Mike Hammar

Money is easy to handle;
There are two secrets:
The first is spend less than you make.
If this doesn't work for you, then the second one is definitely for you:
Make more than you spend.
That's all there is to handling money.
— from Life's Secret Handbook

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

Being 54, I seriously doubt I'll ever be able to fully retire. It would probably kill me anyway sitting around the house watching the grass grow. Am not saying that I plan on working 40 hours per week until I drop, however, I would rather work 25 hours per week starting at 60 and working til 65, then 20 hours until 70 and 15 per week after that. That way I can enjoy retirement earlier and longer. Besides, the government will figure out a way to wipe out my retirement accounts long before
they put me in the ground .... either that or some quack doctor.
— "Catbluize" (pen name for a person commenting on an article about "Don’t let fear ruin your retirement Retirees’ financial worries hinder them from taking action"

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

As an aside, here is an e-mail that I received from Vera, a reader of The Joy of Not Working. Vera, by the way, is a professor at a University in the USA.

Dear Ernie,

Just a note to tell you that you are a real inspiration.

Instead of teaching summer school, from 9am to 3 pm lab every day, plus evening grading, but extra pay, I have opted for a rest. I must personally thank you for it.

I have rested, I go to the swimming pool, I enjoy the food I cook, I sleep in late, I watch TV shows I like. I decided not to spend any money whatsoever on stupid things, and so far I am OK.

Thanks again for all the wisdom you impart on us.

Vera:

How to Upset Your Readers and Make Money at the Same Time

My retirement plan has many elements to it including writing and publishing several more books that will add to my prosperity.

My prosperity up until now has been achieved in many ways including — would you believe — upsetting some of my readers and making money at it.

For instance, I recently received a handwritten letter (always a treat in this day and age when most people send e-mails) from a female reader of one of my books who calls herself a "Healer, Visionary & Artist" and lives in California.

The envelope was red and really different with an image of Cat Woman on it. Even the U.S. stamps on the envelope had cats on them.

"Here we go again," I thought, "another unhinged female reader sending me whacky stuff." (It's female readers who send me flaky stuff that can make my head spin in several directions all at the same time. One or two of them even have exhibited signs of slight, barely worth mentioning, craziness — but don't tell anyone that I said so. Americans are known to sue for anything and everything.)

I was wrong, however, in this case. It was just a woman upset at me — this happens to me often enough with women — so no problem here.

The image above is the inside of the letter, the content of which I have placed below.

Ernie,

I just finished reading Real Success Without a Real Job [re-issued as Career Success Without a Real Job].

I had to borrow the book from my local library because I'm broke from taking a vacation from my very boring and unchallenging job as a massage therapist.

Before I even finished reading your book completely, I found myself busy writing a book all of my own.

Thank you.

Anyways . . . that's not why I'm writing you. I'm writing you because you pissed me off. I got really mad when you said I was a cheapskate for borrowing the book from the library.

That is very rude.

It pissed me off so much that I called Ten Speed Press and ordered a copy of The Joy of Not Working.

The book is on its way as I write this letter and I'm looking forward to reading it.

Thank you.

Cyrstal Lynn Stevens
Healer, Visionary & Artist

Incidentally, Crystal was referring to the part in Career Success Without a Real Job on Page 174 where I wrote:

The key is not to cheap out when buying information that can help you market your products, learn the latest trade secrets, and be a better person. If you borrowed this book from the library — particularly if you are a well-paid professional — then you are not really committed to career success without a real job. Being cheap will not help you feel prosperous and successful.

You may protest that borrowing a book from the library is a form of economizing. True, it can be if you can’t afford the book. But economizing can create a “poor me” attitude toward money as well as all other areas of your life. You are likely feeding your subconscious mind poverty messages that will prevent you from ever becoming truly prosperous and successful.

So, the question is: Where are you cheaping out in your life that is adding to your poverty consciousness?

For example if you are an author, do you always expect everyone to buy copies of your books.

I don't. I have given away over 13,000 copies of my books (cost of around $50,000) over the years.

This along with upsetting some of my readers (both male and female) have been two keys to my success as an international best-selling author.

One more result that I have achieved is put myself in a position of prosperity and respectable wealth that enhances my retirement plan and allows me to work at projects that I truly enjoy at any pace that I desire.

Here are some retirement quotes and money quotes to inspire you to greater wealth and prosperity:

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

"Real wealth equals ideas plus energy."
— Buckminster Fuller

"The best thing a man can do for his culture when he is rich is to endeavor to carry out those schemes which he entertained when he was poor."
— Henry David Thoreau

Social Security as a Retirement Plan Is Less Secure than Winning the Lottery

I regularly read articles related to Social Security, retirement, and pensions so that I can keep my retirement plan tuned up for any changes that may affect it and so I don't have to go looking for a retirement job.

This is my comment to a USA TODAY story relating to retirement planning titled Assume you won't collect anything from Social Security.

You are right to say "Assume you won't collect anything from Social Security."
I have always said don't rely on any government-run pensions fund as part of your retirement plan.

But this applies to baby boomers as well.

I recently wrote an article on my Redroom author blog called "SOCIAL SECURITY IS A SECURE WAY TO FIND GREAT PLEASURE IN BEING TERRIBLY DECEIVED"

As I indicated, even winning the lottery as a retirement plan (as stupid as it is) is a safer bet than counting on Social Security.

The entire American Social Security System is actually a giant Ponzi-type pay-as-you-go scheme that takes the payroll taxes of Americans who are still working and distributes it to American retirees.


Referring to the American Social Security System in a project called Retiring With Dignity, William Shipman, a CATO Institute researcher, noted :

“Any surplus [in Social Security] is not saved or invested for pensioners. Those funds are borrowed by the federal government to pay current operating expenses and replaced with government bonds. The federal government lends itself the excess in return for an interest-paying bond, an IOU that it issues to itself .... The funds [ in Social Security] are not invested for the benefit of present or future retirees.”

What a brilliant idea, having the American government borrow money from itself and issue IOUs to itself, promising to pay it back sometime in the future as retirement income to its citizens!
This would be okay if the U.S. government in itself wasn't so largely in debt that it can be considered bankrupt big time.

So, would you trust an IOU from someone or an entity that is bankrupt big time?
If the figures in the article called The Scary Actual US Government Debt in last Wednesday's Globe and Mail are true, the U.S is even further in debt than 98 percent of Americans are willing to admit and the Social Security system is even in greater and imminent danger.


If the U.S. government is actually about $200 trillion in debt instead of under $20 trillion, it may not be able to pay Social Security within 5 years or so.

Of course, most Americans are in denial about how much debt their government has incurred and can't accept that the Social Security system is in fact bankrupt.

Again, Social Security as a retirement plan is less secure than winning the lottery.

Unfortunately, many North Americans now suffer from a sense of entitlement and are not willing to take responsibility for their lives. This has in part contributed to the serious economic conditions today. If people learned how to save and pay cash for anything they purchased, we would have few people in serious debt and relying totally on Social Security as their retirement plan.


I worked less than half of my adult life and I have no debt problems simply because I learned a long time ago how to live way below my means. Incidentally, I drive a 1995 Camry even though I can purchase a brand new car for cash. What's more, I have about 10 credit cards but have never paid one cent of credit-card interest in the last 20 years. This is a result of taking responsibility for my retirement plan.


As an aside, I thought my net worth was about $13.5-trillion more than that of the U.S. government, given that I have no debt.

If the figures in the Globe and Mail article are true, my net worth is actually about $200-trillion more than that of the U.S. Government.

I bet most people didn't know that I was that rich.

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

Here are a few retirement quotes to keep things in perspective:

Waiting until your retirement party is too late to start planning your portfolio.
— Richard Wastcoat


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

— Unknown wise retiree



If you retire right the only thing you will worry about is when to eat and when to sleep.
— Author Unknown

The shortest and best way to make your fortune is to let people see clearly that it is in their interests to promote yours.
— Jean de La Bruyére

Retirement Living Is Great If Your Wants Don't Become Your Needs

I  just received a Google Alert that my name was mentioned in an article about retirement living in the Vancouver Sun.

The article was titled Are Boomers Saving Too Much for Retirement - Not This One.

I noticed that the reason my name was mentioned in the Google Alert was because Daryl Nelson, a commentor to the article, had mentioned my book  How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free in his words "as the only book on retirement I have found at all useful."

Anyway, the article was written by Craig McInnes, who claims that he will need a lot of money in retirement. Here is one of his statements; "When I have time, I tend to spend more money, not less. On travel, on renovation projects, on shopping for things that I didn't realize I needed until I had time to look around and see what's available. Do you know you can buy wireless speakers now? Imagine how much better life would be if I could get rid of that rat's nest in the TV room."

To me, an attitude like this is why the world has such big problems and why the American economy is in the tank with a lot of baby boomers not having saved enough for retirement. It also shows a lack of creativity.

The following paragraphs were posted by me in response to the article:

I have received hundreds of letters, phone calls, and e-mails from retirees confirming that they live on much less money once they have retired as compared to when they were working. These people live on a modest amount of money because they have their wants in check. "Also, Statistics Canada has confirmed that the average retiree lives on around 50 percent of pre-retirement income. These results don't lie. People can — and do — live on a lot less money in retirement.

"Fact is, the key to living well in retirement is to be very clear about "needs" vs "wants."

"There are two major problems with North Americans, particularly baby boomers:

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

2. Instant gratification takes too long.

Plain and simple: Your needs have always been provided for — otherwise you would be dead! (Case closed!).

"I have a retired friend named George who takes in only $1,500 a month (CPP, Old Age Security, and supplement) and still saves $400 to $500 a month.

"Even a better example, another friend Ron has been getting only $450 a month from early CPP since he turned 60. He had no assets except for an inexpensive car and a older Airstream trailer in which he lives. He doesn't have to pay any rent because he has it parked on a friends land. Ron is one of the happiest people I have met. He just turned 65 on September 21 so with Old Age Security (the governmment should change the name to "New Age Security") and the supplement, he will now be making what George makes, around $1,500. Ron says that he will be able to live like a king on this. Incidentally, if you think that Ron is some sort of derilict, he isn't. On the contrary, Ron used to be a university professor and gave it up in 1990 because he didn't believe in teaching university students to be bigger consumers. When Ron appears in public, he comes across as more polished, distinguished, and intelligent than 95 percent of people in society.

"These eight quotations are some of my favorites to put needs and wants in proper perspective relative to happiness.

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.
— Henry David Thoreau

Be what you is, not what you ain't, 'cause if you ain't what you is, you is what you ain't. — Luther D. Price

Abundance isn't a matter of acquiring how much money you desire; it's a matter of being happy with how much you presently have.
— Unknown wise person


If you want to know how rich you really are, find out what would be left of you tomorrow if you should lose every dollar you own tonight.
— William J. H. Boetcker


My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants.
— J. Brotherton


That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest.
— Henry David Thoreau


If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.
— Unknown Wise Person


If I keep my good character, I shall be rich enough.
— Platonicus


For the record, I drive a 1995 Camry even though I can purchase 10 brand new expensive cars for cash. This alone proves that a new car is not a need but a want — just as most things that people say are needs. Even a used car is not a need because I could get by without a car if I really had to.


The thing that most unhappy and dissatisfied people don't ever get is: "To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.

Ernie J. Zelinski
Best-Selling Author, Innovator, and International Life Coach
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)

Saving Only 10 percent of Your Income is for Losers

Are you saving enough for retirement so that you don't have to rely on Social Security for a meagre retirement income?

I just came across an interesting website How the Average US Consumer Spends Their Paycheck:

Interestingly, here is a comment by a guy named Rob:

I am seriously living in the most expensive place in america or something. If an average household income is $63,091...

Mine's $110,000 before tax and i still feel i am running low on money

A guy by the name of Bob replied to Rob with:

You are spending too much. I have 7 children (1 in Med school), we earn 72,000 (before taxes,)

We have a 2,400 sq ft home with a beautiful valley view (no lights, people or buildings). We're able to save up to 30,000 a year if we choose to.

So yes, you spend too much. Our housing at $800 per month is 12% of our income. My suggestion is to look at the chart pie and address the big pieces first.

My guess is you spend way too much on housing and transportation. You probably drive an expensive car and commute. We use 1 car and live 1 mile from work. You could do the same if you chose to. You have to make and ego vs spending decision. Personally my ego does well knowing that we're building our nest egg by big chunks. Both our cars are paid off.

We're into healthy food, so it is mostly veggies, fruit, beans and chicken. Very inexpensive. I'll bet you eat out a lot. 2 people eating $12 lunches each day adds up to $7,500 per year. That is 4 trips to Cancun. Its all about your ego and what you decide.

Good luck my friend.

This was my comment to Bob:

Hey Bob:

Congratulations on your saving habits. I love to hear about people like you.

I am writing a book called How NOT to Retire BROKE: Prosperity Principles to Help You Create $250,000 or More for Your Retirement.

In the book I have a chapter called Saving Only 10 percent of Your Income is for Losers.

I talk about how I was able to save 30 percent of my income once I started making decent money.

I was delighted to read on one website where some guy was saving 60 percent of his income because he didn't increase his spending as his income went up.

Just like this guy, you are saving more than me. It appears that you are saving 40 to 50 percent of your after tax income.

For people who are in debt or unable to save, I advice that they read Larry Winget's book called You're Broke Because You Want to Be.

What I like about Larry Winget is that he tells readers that their excuses about not being able to save money are lies and that excuses are for losers.

One of my favorite quotes of all time is by J.P. Getty who said: "People who don't respect money don't have any."

To add to this, "People who are foolish with their money are foolish in many other ways as well."

Ernie J. Zelinski
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)

Here are some quotes about saving money:

Most people will never be able to retire and maintain even a
hotdogs-for-dinner standard of living.
— Timothy Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Workweek

What good is freedom if you've not got the money for it?
— Lillian Hellman

Always remember: Money has no power of its own.
— Suze Orman

Don't buy expensive socks if you can never find them.
— Unknownn wise person

He who buys what he does not need steals from himself.
— Unknown wise person

You Do NOT Need a Financial Advisor to Retire Comfortably

This is a comment that I placed on US News in regards to their story Understanding the Psychology of Retirement Planning:

I have worked less than half of my adult life and I didn't start saving for my retirement until I was in my forties. Even so, I will be okay in retirement with an adequate retirement income.

I have never profited from any house appreciation because I rented for over 40 years. Moreover, I have never profited from stock investments because the majority of my savings are in safe investments. The key is to save 40 to 50 percent of your income once you start making a decent income so that you can enjoy being retired and experience 1001 Ways to Enjoy Your Retirement.

I disagree with the author that you need a financial advisor. I have never used a financial advisor and I don't ever intend to use one.

In fact, I would recommend to people that they stay away from financial advisors, regardless of whether they are fee-only or work on a commission basis. I don't place any credibility on whether they are accredited with any so-called financial association. These associations tend to be self-serving, trying to exclude others from the particular area of work.

With so many baby boomers not having saved enough for retirement, what percentage of the baby boomers working as financial planners haven't saved enough for retirement themselves.

Did these financial advisors see the housing bust coming and tell their clients to get out of housing? I bet over 95 percent of the financial advisors took a beating on their houses and investments because they were also the same ones advocating that a house is a great investment and that stocks were a great investment. If these people were so wrong, why would you place any trust in them? If they themselves haven't saved as much as they should have, they have no credibility with me and they should have absolutely no credibility with anyone else.

If I ever considered hiring a financial planner, I would ask him or her to provide proof in the way of their own investments and assets over the last 10 to 20 years to convince me that they followed their own advice and that this advice paid off big-time for them.

Incidentally, Larry Winget in his book You're Broke Because You Want to Be advocates similar advice in regards to hiring a financial advisor.

In short, once you have a sizeable amount saved, consider hiring a financial person to help you invest your money but only if the person can prove that he or she has at least 10 to 20 times as much money as you have. If the financial advisor can’t prove to you with certified accounting documentation that he or she has saved a big amount of money using their own techniques, don’t hire him or her. Why would you want to pay someone to manage your money if he or she is broke or close to it? Trust me, you are liable to wind up broke yourself.

Ernie Zelinski
Author of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 125,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and the forthcoming How NOT to Retire Broke: Prosperity Principles to Help Your Create $500,000 or Much More for Your Retirement

Here are some retirement quotes and retirement sayings to help you with your retirement planning so that you retire rich and die broke:

If you have debt and you are going into retirement,
I don't think you are ready for retirement,"
— Gary Gilgen, Director of the financial planning department at Rehmann Financial in Troy, Mich

The biggest trouble maker you will ever meet watches you shave or
put makeup on your face in the mirror every morning.
— Unknown Wise Person

Bill Hagen, work is now past you
Allow me these words to say
You are now free as a bird,
Today is your retirement day.
— Dave Erhard

Early to Retire
Late to Rise
Leaves a man happy,
less wealthy, and
wife pondering,
was it wise?
Retirement T-Shirt for Sale on Zazzle

The Ideal Retirement Plan: "Marry an old rich broad and wait for her to die."
— Ivan Wilson (commenting on an online article about retirment.)

I used to have dreams that I died at my desk.
Now that I've retired, I don't have those dreams anymore.
— Haselback (commenting on an online article about retirment.)

Retirement Planning: Reduce Your Standard of Living Today If You Want Any Standard of Living in Retirement

Welcome to the new retirement where your retirement wishes may be fantasy. The odds are high that you will exhaust your retirement savings after 10 or 20 years of retirement, according to the latest Retirement Readiness Report.

About half of those now aged 56 to 62 are at risk of not having sufficient retirement income to pay for basic retirement expenses and uninsured medical expenses, according to the study.

The study also found lower-income retirees are most likely to run out of retirement savings after 10 and certainly 20 years of retirement, and higher-income retirees are least likely to run out of money.

In fact, retirees don't run out of retirement income. As they age and wind down their assets, they reduce their standard of living dramatically.

In other words, people do not completely run out of money even though the studies say that retirees will. They take action either to spend less or to go back to work to earn more retirement income.

Other research found that about 65 percent of American households are at risk of not having enough retirement income to maintain their living standard in retirement.

Both studies assume that people will retire at age 65.

That is not likely, however. Many Americans are forced to retire earlier and most even if they want to work later cannot find a job in retirement. So before you make your retirement speech, include your spouse in your retirement plan, have some fun at work, and start saving big time - at least 30 percent of your income as I have been doing to insure that my retirement plan is sound.

Plain and simple: Saving a lot more money and reducing your standard of living now might be the only way to be reasonably certain you will enjoy any decent standard of living in your retirement and be able to write letters about the joy of not working.

Some retirement quotes to put things in perspective:

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

It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating.
— Oscar Wilde

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

One week into retirement, you'll be so damned bored that you'll want to stick bicycle
spokes into your eyes. You'll probably opt to look for another job or start another company. Kinda defeats the purpose of waiting [for retirement], doesn't it.
- Timothy Ferris in The 4-Hour Workweek

Teacher's Retirement Motto: I Used to Teach. Now I Have No Class.
— Unknown wise person

I have retired, un retired, and retired again all in the past 10 years.
— Unknown retiree

The Ideal Retirement Plan: Marry an old rich broad and wait for her to die.
— Ivan Wilson (commenting on an online article about retirment.)

It [retirement] was absolutely boring. You can't go and say, 'I'm retired now. That's it!' It won't take long and you're really gone for good and someone throws the last shovel of dirt on a coffin with your name on it. That's the moment you're really retiring — when you die.
— Ozzy Osbourne

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)

The Secret to Social Security Is to Appreciate the Pleasure of Being Terribly Deceived

In a an article called 7 Ways to Protect Your Retirement Savings, Emily Brandon of USA News states, "Social Security is one guaranteed income stream that most retirees receive."

This was my comment along with some retirement quotes that I posted after the article:

Your comment "Social Security is one guaranteed income stream that most retirees receive" is totally absurd!

This reminds me of an Oscar Wilde quote: "The secret of life is to appreciate the pleasure of being terribly, terribly deceived."

How can you say that the American Social Security System is a guaranteed retirement income stream?

Even winning the lottery may seem like a safer bet.

The Social Security Administration, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t have any funds in trust or investment accounts, such as stocks, bonds or savings accounts.

The Canadian Government Pension Plan (CPP), on the other hand, does and I still don't consider the CPP a guaranteed source of retirement income.

The entire American Social Security System is actually a giant Ponzi-type pay-as-you-go scheme that takes the payroll taxes of Americans who are still working and distributes it to American retirees.

Individuals who promote similar "retirement plans" are charged and sent to jail once convicted.

Interestingly, it’s OK for the American government to run such a Ponzi scheme.

CATO Institute researcher William Shipman noted in a project, “Retiring With Dignity”:

“Any surplus is not saved or invested for pensioners. Those funds are borrowed by the federal government to pay current operating expenses and replaced with government bonds. The federal government lends itself the excess in return for an interest-paying bond, an IOU that it issues to itself .... The funds are not invested for the benefit of present or future retirees.”

What a brilliant idea, having the government borrow money from itself and issue IOUs to itself, promising to pay it back sometime in the future as retirement income to its citizens!

This would be okay if the American government in itself wasn't so largely in debt that it can be considered bankrupt big time.

So, would you trust an IOU from someone or an entity that is bankrupt big time?

I still find it amazing that Americans are in denial that there is a problem with their Social Security System.

Fact is, sooner or later there is going to be a massive restructuring of the system and Americans are going to find out that they have no Social Security, or very little, to rely on for a retirement income.

The safest retirement income may be to have a retirement job, if they are still healthy enough to work.

I semi-retired when I was 35 and had a net worth of minus $30,000.

Even though I have worked less than half of my adult life, I can retire comfortably.

The reason is that once I started earning even a modest income, I started saving over 40 percent, because I have never ever placed any confidence in government pension plans to guarantee a retirement income for me. My retirement plan, by the way, still involves some work.

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

This, along with relying on the government for a retirement income, precisely explains why so many Americans and Canadians will be broke in retirement.

Ernie J. Zelinski
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)

Retirement Planning - Wakeup Call On Retirement Needs?

My retirement plan has to be different from the what some experts say should be the required plan so that you retire happy, wild, and free.

In a typical retirement plan, American retirees will require resources equal to more than 15 times their final pay to maintain their standard of living after they retire, according to analysts at Hewitt Associates Inc.

About 80% of workers may fall short of meeting all their financial needs in retirement, says Hewitt Associates.

The figures come from a Hewitt study of projected retirement savings totals of about 2 million employees at 84 large U.S. companies.

After factoring in inflation and post-retirement medical costs, the analysts estimate that the employees will need 15.7 times final pay in retirement resources to meet financial needs in retirement.

Of that amount, Social Security is expected to provide 4.7 times final pay, the analysts estimate.

The remaining 11 times final pay will need to come from other sources, such as company-provided plans and personal savings, the analysts write.

Other findings in the study include:

Only 18% of retirees who contribute to a defined contribution plan and work a full career are expected to achieve the 15.7 times final pay goal.

19% of retirees are expected to have a shortfall of 5 times final pay or more at retirement.

Workers who rely solely on a defined contribution plan to fund their retirement plan are projected to meet only 74% of their needs in retirement. Employees who are covered by an active or frozen defined benefit plan may be able to meet 91% of retirement needs.

First, are we talking about "wants" or "needs."

Plain and simple, everyone's needs have always been provided — otherwise they would be dead!

The problem with U.S. society today, and that includes many retirees, is that a need is any luxury that the neighbor happens to have.

Second, actuaries such as well-known Malcolm Hamilton give good reasons why the large majority of retirees, whether they live in Canada, the U.S., or other Western nations, can live on far less than 80 percent of their pre-retirement income.

Indeed, government statistics indicate that retirees live comfortably on 45 percent to 62 percent of their pre-retirement income, without needing a retirement job of any kind.

Although these studies by Hewitt and financial institutions indicate that retirees will require a relatively high income to support these "needs", the writing is on the wall: Most retirees will be living on a small fraction of the income that they made working.

And my guess is that many of these retirees will be just as happy as when they were working - or even happier.

My guess is based on the number of people who have written to me over the years about their experiences with retirement and unemployment.

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

A Fun Retirement Job That Can Make You a Fortune

Perhaps you are looking for a fun retirement job or a unreal retirement business because you didn't do sufficient retirement planning while you were working.

Here is some great information about how you can increase your retirement income.

A Retirement Business That Can Make You a Fortune

Have you ever thought about sharing your life’s story and strategies for success with the world?

Have you ever written down four or five how-to lessons about life or business and thought, “Man, people would pay for this hard-earned wisdom.”

If yes, then you’re a lot more like the “gurus” than you might have thought.

(And you might as well get paid like them, agreed?)

Legendary trainers like Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, Deepak Chopra, John Gray, and Marianne Williamson all decided at some point to teach others.

Want to be the next guru in your field?

If so, you have to learn to position, promote, and get paid like one. Learn how in this complimentary video:

Brendon Burchard's Secrets for Going from Bankruptcy to Earning $4.7Million in 24 Months

This amazing in-depth training video will teach you how Brendon Burchard went from being bankrupt and unknown to earning $4.6 million in 24 months with just one assistant.

You will learn:

* How Brendon used an innovative (and simple) strategy towrite a short how-to ebook and get it downloaded 117,000 times, making him an instant expert (and rich guy).

*How Brendon skipped the speaking circuit advice of startingout at a few hundred bucks per speech and LEAPED to $25,000 per speech with one secret approach to getting booked as a speaker.

*How Brendon pulls in $500,000 plus paydays (that’s net) in just one easy to create weekend seminar.

*How Brendon gets coaching clients to pay $25,000 a year without having to work with them one-on-one every month.

This valuable retirement job information is available at:

The Retirement Business That Can Make You a Fortune

Brendon is the go-to guy for authors, speakers, coaches, seminar leaders and online marketers. This insanely detailed and innovative training will show you why.

Tony Robbins, John Gray, David Bach, Brian Tracy, Frank Kern and Paula Abdul call on Brendon for his strategies.

I just took Brendon's Partnership/Sponsorship Seminar in San Francisco last weekend and immediately signed up for his Expert's Academy Training in October. This shows how much I learned from Brendon.

I’m thinking you can learn something from him too.

Brendon Burchard's Secrets for Going from Bankruptcy to Earning $4.7 Million in 24 Months

I hope you enjoy the training.

Ernie J. Zelinski

ps. Brendon made $90,000 in one month implimenting just ONE of the FIVE strategies in this video. You can watch it now at:

The Retirement Business That Can Make You a Fortune

Here is some of the latest news regarding retirement:

FOUR out of 10 British people approaching retirement are considering moving abroad, a survey showed this week.

Around 42 per cent of people aged over 55 said they were thinking of relocating overseas, with 38 per cent considering doing so within the next five years, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

10 American States Which Are the Best Places to Retire Happy Because They Don't Tax Retirement Income (Federal Pensions):
Alabama
Hawaii
Illinois
Kansas
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Michigan
New York
Pennsylvania
See U.S. News Online Tool to Find the Best Places to Retire

Low Balances In Retirement Funds

No doubt many people today are counting on The Retirement Plan for Stupid People so that they can enjoy retirement happiness after midlife.

Only about half the U.S. workforce is covered by some type of employer-sponsored retirement plan. And most of those are 401(k) plans, which usually require employees to contribute and make investment decisions. Of course, without a pension, people's retirement income will be compromised.

Even before the financial crisis, the average balance in 401(k)s for workers nearing retirement was just $78,000. After the market plunged, that average was reduced to about $56,000. That's just not enough for a comfortable retirement, says Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and chief executive officer of TIAA-CREF, the financial services company that offers retirement plans for employees in the academic, medical and nonprofit fields.

"Many families, at this stage, are short $250,000 from what they're going to need," Ferguson says.

Check out these latest retirement resources:

Letters about The Joy of Not Working

Retirement Quotes

Canadian Retirement More Pleasant Than American Retirement

A survey by TD Bank indicates the reality of retirement living in Canada is a lot closer to what people had imagined than it is in the United States.

Almost 70 percent of Canadian retirees versus less than 50 percent of Americans say their retirement life is exactly or close to what they thought it would be.

What's more, thirty-eight per cent of Americans said they definitely hadn't saved enough for retirement, and 28 per cent said they might need to find a retirement job to supplement their income. For Canadians, those numbers were 21 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.

As well, twice as many Americans as Canadians are worried that they might run out of money — 25 per cent versus 12 per cent.


Here are a few Retirement Quotes to help you enjoy retirement life:

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

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

Retirement Poem About Travel
The fabric of my faithful love
No power shall dim or ravel
Whilst I stay here — but oh, my dear,
If I should ever travel!
— EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY

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

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

Here are a few resources for your retirement plan:

Best Places to Retire Happy

How Much Do I Need to Retire

Retirement Calculators

Top-10 Reasons to Retire Early by Ernie Zelinski

Funny Retirement Quotes

Retirement Planning - Advice from the Rich

Advice from the Rich to Help You with Your Financial Retirement Planning

Your prosperity consciouness is not dependent on money; your flow of money is dependent upon your prosperity consciousness.
- Louise L. Hay

Even if you don't have any money, you can create for your mind the reality that what you do have is overwhelming abundance.
- Anxiety Culture

Abundance isn't a matter of acquiring how much money you desire; it's a matter of being happy with how much you presently have.
- Unknown wise person

Your wealth can only grow to the extent you do.
- T. Harv Eker

Many an optimist has become rich by buying out a pessimist.
- Robert G. Allen

The rich don't work for money.
- Robert T. Kiyosaki

The man who tips a shilling every time he stops for petrol is giving away annually the cost of lubricating his car.
- J. Paul Getty

Never pay the slightest attention to what a company president ever says about his stock.
- Bernard Baruch

The only time to buy these is on a day with no "y" in it.
- Warren Buffett

Life Expectancy

One of the key elements of retirement planning is how long you will live.

Log on to Living to 100 to get your estimate.

Also see Retirement Calculators on the How to Retire Happy Website

For Where to Retire See:

Best Places to Retire Happy on The How to Retire Happy Website


For Retirement Jobs See:


Jobs for Retirement on The Retirement Cafe

Unreal Retirement Jobs

Retirement Jobs on The Real Success Resource Center

Best Retirement Jobs on Squidoo

Is Retirement Job an Oxymoron

According to the Canadian Labor Department, the number of unemployed workers age 55 to 64 has nearly tripled since the great recession began, to about 1.6 million of the nation’s 15.4 million unemployed as of November 2009.

What's more, these unemployed job seekers say it is even harder for them to find work because of what they see as age bias.

According to these recent reports, unemployment rates for older Canadian workers reached record levels last year, partly because fewer employees eligible for early retirement benefits are dropping out of the labor force.

The lack of retirement savings and concerns by soon-to-be retirees about whether they will have enough retirement income to live comfortably in later life appear to have discouraged early retirement.

Canadian baby boomers are now remaining in the labor force and searching for work after they lose their jobs.

Even the so-called retired are looking for so-called retirement jobs.

On that note, is "retirement job" an oxymoron?

Some of my favorite quotes relating to unemployment in retirement or otherwise:

Gainfully unemployed, very proud of it, too.
— Charles Baxter

Every prosperous person who does not work has a creative scheme that does.
— John Otway

If I wanted to become a tramp, I would seek information and advice from the most successful tramp I could find. If I wanted to become a failure, I would seek advice from men who have never succeeded. If I wanted to succeed in all things, I would look around me for those who are succeeding, and do as they have done."
— Joseph Marshall Wade

For Retirement Planning Resources by Ernie Zelinski , see:

Retirement Jobs on The Retirement Cafe

Jobs During Retirement on The Real Career Success Resource Center

Dream Retirement Jobs on UnrealJob.com

Top-10 Reasons to Retire Early

My Retirement Plan

How much money do I need to retire

Particularly if you are a baby boomer quickly approaching retirement, you may be concerned whether you are saving enough for retirement.

The good news is that many people may be overestimating how much money they need once they leave the workforce. Several research studies show that people generally spend a lot less as they age.

Even so, this is not a reason to become casual about how much you are saving. Right now, 44 per cent of working Canadians have no retirement plan or RRSP. In the private sector, only one in five workers belongs to an employer pension plan. And only one-third of Canadian households are saving enough to cover their basic expenses in retirement.

Pension funding issues, bankruptcies and the lack or loss of personal savings have, unfortunately, left more Canadians to rely solely on Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan in retirement. Those retirees, who receive an average of $500 per month, are living in poverty.


Here are some retirment sayings and retirement quotes:

We only need to save $49 a month for a happy retirement. That's how much we'll need for our cable TV bill.
- from Glasbergen cartoon

It's an absolute fact that as people get older they spend less money.
- Rick Ferri president of money-management firm Portfolio Solutions in Troy, Mich.

You can be young without money but you can't be old without it.
- Tennessee Williams

By the time I have money to burn, my fire will have burnt out.
- Author Unknown

Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the "gotta have it" scale.
- Zig Ziglar

If you want to retire happy regardless of your income, then you should read How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free. It gives retirement wisdom that you won't get from your financial advisor.

See:

• How Much Money Do I Need to Retire


• How to Become a Millionaire


• The Best Places to Retire


• Retirement Income


• Retirement Quotes by Ernie Zelinski


• Retirement Jobs for Retirement Income

Retirment Planning - Those Who Don't Respect Money Don't Have Any!

Following is my e-mail to Christina Blizzard of Sun Media who wrote this article

Retirement plans go boom

Hello Christina:

In your article, you make this statement:



"Even when low income seniors are boosted to around $16,000-$18,000 with Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Security, it is still not enough to survive, Eng said."

This comment by Susan Eng is simply not true!

I know people who are living on even a lower income right here in Edmonton, and not only are they surviving, they are living well, and happy, I might add.

For instance, my friend Jim took early Canadian Pension Plan of only $435 a month at 60 years old. This is his total regular income and he has no assets to speak of except for an Airstream trailer and a older car. His income is supplemented by a few hours a week work that he gets from a mutual friend who manages a medical clinic. Jim lives pretty well and is one of the happiest people I know. He does admit that he wishes that he had a bit of money saved for emergencies, however.

Another friend George is 65+ and collects about $1,450 in Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security. This is his total income. George lives in a subsidized one-bedroom apartment in a Seniors project. Get this: George saves $450 to $500 a month from that $1450. And George saves this amount every month. George says that he knows that he will have a good deal of money in the bank when he dies.

Refer to first two of the last three paragraphs from an article in last Friday's Wall Street Journal in which I was quoted for the reason that most people don't have enough for retirement in the first place.


Get Out of The Rat Race

Just in case you are too lazy to read the Wall Street Journal article, this is what reporter Brent Arends wrote in those two paragraphs.


The problem with people nowadays is that a 'necessity' is any luxury your neighbor happens to have," jokes Ernie Zelinski, a frugal living guru and author of The Joy of Not Working and How To Retire Happy Wild and Free." He adds, "We can all live on less than you think."

You might not want to go as far as Mr. Zelinski –"I don't own a cellphone, I drive a '95 Camry, and for two years I lived without a sofa," he says–but the principles he espouses aren't crazy. "You're financially independent if you have $15,000 coming in and $14,900 going out," he says.


There is also another reason that people don't have enough money for retirement.

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

So long for now.

Ernie J. Zelinski
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)

VIP BOOKS

Check Out These Retirement resources:

Top-Ten Reasons to Retire on The Retirement Quotes Cafe
Retirement Jobs of the Future
Retirement Sentiments and Retirement Wishes for Retirement Parties
How Much Money Do I Need to Retire
Retirement Income Resources

How Much Retirement Income Do Retirees Need to Retire Comfortably?

Conventional wisdom in the financial industry says that people need about 80 percent of their pre-retirement income to be comfortable after retiring. Some financial advisors are now raising this to 90 percent, even 110 percent of pre-retirement income.

In my opinion, this is ridiculous. In my book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free, I give eight reasons why, generally speaking, people should get by with 65 percent of pre-retirement income.

In fact, highly respected Canadian actuary Malcolm Hamilton says the true number is closer to 50 per cent.

Hamilton points out that the investment industry has a vested interest in telling people that they need a high retirement income because the retirement income and most of them seem quite satisfied with their financial circumstances after they retire," Mr. Hamilton says.

Check out some of my latest webpages and posts:

The Joy of Being Retired: 365 Reaons Why Retirement Rocks (and Work Sucks)

What Makes a Good Retirement Friend