Author: After Fifty Friends
The Grandma Check: How Big (or small!) do you make it?
The grandma check, filled out in careful handwriting and mailed well in advance to ensure timely delivery, is a treasured part of many Americans’ birthday or holiday traditions. But while the concept is simple, the art of grandma check-giving can be pretty complicated. Send too much, and you risk setting a precedent that will drain your bank ...Read More
6 Signs That You’re Ready (Maybe) to Retire Early
You may dream of retiring long before a traditional 60-something retirement age, but be careful about making that leap too soon. If you're not emotionally ready to quit working, you may not be ready to retire.
How You Look. Does It Really Matter?
Floods! No, that wasn’t a Weather Channel news alert. That’s how my friends described the too-short pants I wore for my birthday shopping spree. As we’ve each turned 60, we’ve come up with simple ways to mark our passage into a new decade. For my celebration, I asked my friends to help me select a new wardrobe, but first, th...Read More
Still Working, But Looking for “Resort Living?” Here’s Your solution….
A common myth about living in a senior community is that everyone who lives there is retired. Not at all!
Annuities: 5 Pros and Cons
At face value, annuities offer a solid deal: guaranteed income for life. But they are not the most straightforward of products. Annuities can be a cash cow for insurance companies and the people who sell them — making it important for you to understand them and trust your source of information.
Are We Our Own Worst Enemy? Age = Less?
I used to like being told I look great for my age. It was a super ego-booster, made me feel special. But what did that remark really mean? It meant that the person making the remark has a stereotypical view of what older people SHOULD look like. And I didn’t fit their stereotype. It wasn’t really a compliment. It was a remark tainted with prejudice...Read More
The Best Retirement Plan is Not To – Thoughts by Aaron Clarey
It’s an all too common problem. Every month I host a financial planning class and I ask all the new students to introduce themselves. And while there’s the occasional 35 year old housewife there, unfortunate widow whose husband did the finances there, or even the young whipper snapper 23 year old trying to get a jump on things, the plurality of my...Read More
Annoying Eye Twitches? 4 Ways to Get It Stopped!
Eyelids feeling twitchy? The fancy scientific word for this condition is Blepharospasm, which comes from “blepharo” (the Greek word for eyelid) combined with “spasm” (an uncontrolled muscle contraction). These eyelid twitches, or tics, happen to many of us from time to time and can actually be hereditary. If you suffer from occasional eye twitches,...Read More
Don’t Miss These Tax Deductions and Credits!
Key Points Don’t miss out on available tax deductions and credits to reduce your tax bill. Before you file your income tax returns, make sure you’re utilizing the tax deductions and credits available to you. Contributions to IRAs You have until April 18, 2017 to make your 2016 IRA contribution up to $5,500 or $6,500 if you’re 50 or older. You...Read More