Mountain Surfing

Freedom 55.
How many times do we wish our life away dreaming
of the freedom that comes with retirement. Especially
moments when the workload gets too much to bear;
family responsibilities weigh heavily upon our
shoulders and watch our dreams fade away into
the sunset?

The day will come when we will meet face to face with
retirement If you think you can just submit your
retirement notice, go home, put your feet up and
voila- you dont have to face another day at work!
This is retirement.

Think again. You need a plan for your retirement.
What do you want to do with your life now that
you have the luxury of time? So you re prepared
for the financial aspect, the social aspect and
have made other plans.

What about TIME?
How are you going to use this time, precious time
now in ample supply for all the dreams you wanted
to pursue, things you never had enough time to
devote to? Retirement is about taking care of YOU.

Time on your hands comes with the ability to transcend
time. Days are no longer planned around career, family
and social responsibilities. It is the time to shift
gears away from the fast lane to the relaxed pace
of retirement.

There are a lucky few who are able to pursue their
hobbies with passion along with their careers or
while raising families. But there are more who focus
on everything but hobbies and other talents or skills.

The media dangles all these fun-filled ways to spend
your retirement years.It makes a worry-free retirement
very appealing. Rightly so.

Sitting on the beach sipping Pina colada, watch the
frolic on the beach, soak up the sun and enjoy the
glorious sunset for as long as you can is a wonderful
thought. It is an idyllic portrait.

Ask yourself how long do you think you can be this
inactive? Are you are willing to spend the rest of
retirement in physical and mental inactivity? You
know this lifestyle will ultimately compromise your
health- mental, physical and spiritual.

There is more to retirement planning. As we get older,
life gets more fragile physically and emotionally.
Relationships, mental capabilities, health, physical
limitations, deep-seated feelings of insecurity,
loss of personal power- all these and possibly a
few more issues are frightening thoughts. But these
realities comes with getting old.

As you plan for retirement, there is another perspective.
It's time to renew and strengthen the spirit, keep or
enhance a positive attitude and savor the quieter side
of life, away from the daily concerns of mundane
responsibilities.

There is more time to spend with family and friends.
It is an opportunity to indulge yourself with your
hobbies, or find new interests. Retirement offers
the time to discover golden opportunities that were
put on pause for lack of time, energy and other
resources.

What dreams did you put on hold all those years you
pursued a career and raised a family? You wanted to be
everything that society and family expected of you. In
retirement, indulge yourself. These years are for you
and you alone.

There are many avenues to explore to make retirement
years enjoyable, productive, creative and add meaning
to your retirement.

HOBBIES

Many of us have hobbies- arts and crafts, sports, reading,
writing, bird-watching, jewelry-making, woodworking,
gardening and many more.

A SECOND CAREER

Dont laugh. Many retirees are going back to school to
pursue higher education, or take refresher course on
a field they are familiar with or take classes on arts
and crafts. Years of experience will enhance the choices
you make, now that precious time is at your disposal.
It is never too late to pursue a new career.

TRAVEL

Early on in retirement, plan to see the places youve
dreamed of that seemed so far away. Realistically, as we
grow older, aches and pains seem to surface unexpectedly.
The energy level has its ups and downs. Medical conditions
that pestered us earlier on seem to demand more attention
as we get older. Lucky are those who are able to include
travel while active in their careers and raising families.

COMMUNITY /CHURCH INVOLVEMENT

What have you got to offer to your community? Explore your
inner strengths, draw from your expertise. With time on your
side; get involved with your community. We all can make a
difference. Communities are always looking for volunteers.
To be one is a worthwhile endeavour for anyone.
Join the church choir.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Dont isolate yourself from friends, associates and family.
For those who can only enjoy a few months of summer,
fire up the barbecue, spruce up your lawn and garden,
enjoy the cool evening summer breeze sitting around
an outdoor fire with loved ones. Get to know more
about your neighborhood and neighbors. Get involved!

SAVOR NATURE'S BEAUTY

Dare to daydream! Now you have the time to enjoy
a nature walks, go bird watching, hone your photographic
talents, Nature's beauty frozen in time in your
photo album is something to behold.Sit in the garden,
in the park or by the seaside or lakeside. Enjoy the
serenity of the moment.

These are the enchanting threads of retirement.

Bonnie Moss writes to inspire and to motivate her readers to explore the depths of their heart and soul and make a difference in this world. She draws from personal experience and her interest in the New Age Visit her website : http://goldencupcafe.tripod.com

Can your home secure your retirement? Maybe not all of it, but it is possible that it can cover a lot more than you think. If you, like many Americans, live in a large family-style home, and you wish to downsize at retirement, your home may well be the asset that secures your retirement.

If you and your spouse file a joint return, you may qualify for up to $500,000 as an exclusion on the gain from the sale of your principle residence. Depending on the value of your home when you retire, you may be able to sell a current property, purchase outright a smaller home and invest the difference without incurring a tax liability. That means simply that you may be able to achieve up to a $500,000 tax free addition to your retirement nest egg. You can get more specifics from IRS Publication 523.

Depending on your anticipated lifespan, this means that your current home could provide the following additional annual cash flow for the entire term of your retirement. This would be in addition to any IRAs, 401Ks, Retirement plans, Social Security, or other investments. Here's a list of additional annual earnings assuming that you never draw down the corpus (the $500,000) and that you leave it, plus your smaller home, to your heirs at your passing. Here's the possible annual additional cash flow.

At 5% earnings: $ 25,000.00

At 6% earnings: $ 30,000.00

At 7% earnings: $ 35,000.00

At 8% earnings: $ 40,000.00

At 9% earnings: $ 45,000.00

At 10% earnings: $ 50,000.00

There are many other options regarding the use of the equity in your home at retirement, but even in this simple and direct approach you can see the incredible value of owning a home when you retire.

Many people do not consider their home a retirement asset, when in fact it can be a huge benefit. By downsizing housing at retirement you not only free up available capital, but you reduce overhead via smaller utility payments and lower maintenance. In addition, you will make a commensurate reduction in risk and stress. You'll have less hassle, less cost, less cleaning and more freedom. Those are all great reasons to downsize when the time comes. Based on this information we hope that you have a firm goal to own your home, free of any debt, when you retire. It will serve you well during retirement.

Roger Beattie is a long time real estate broker, investor, owner and operator. He believes in a practical, functional approach to real estate investing without any of the hype or obscene promises. You can learn more about his approach to real estate investment education at http://www.middleclassmillionaires.com

AP - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has postponed his plan to eliminate about 22,000 temporary, part-time and contract workers and impose a hiring freeze because of the state budget impasse.