Four Things You Need For Retirement

It’s about the money, but it’s not just about the money.

It’s also about -

• Health.
• A Network of Friends and Family.
• Enjoyable Activities.

Read on:

Money

It’s never too early or too late to start saving. But do start saving. Retirement needs to be a line item in your budget, not just an afterthought.

Since the 1980’s there’s been a gradual shift of responsibility for your retirement from company pensions and federal social security to individually held 401k type plans. Many of us have not adjusted to this change, and are behind in our retirement savings.

The big question is always, “How much will I need?” The magic number used to be one million dollars. With inflation, a million isn’t what it used to be. And there needs to be no guessing here. You only get one chance. Start with a well thought out savings plan, and revisit it yearly.

You need to have a professional financial planner run the savings numbers for you based on:

• when you choose to retire.
• life expectancy.
• outstanding debts.
• whether or not you’ll be paying for your own health insurance.
• whether or not you wish to work after retirement.
• what type of life style you wish to have.

Choose a financial planner unaffiliated with any money products. Otherwise, their goal will be to sell you their product, not look out for your best interest.

Play with some of the money calculators on line. Get comfortable with the idea that you alone are responsible for how well you will live in your senior years.

Health

You want to be alive and kicking come those golden years.

Eat right.

Lots of fruits and vegetables! Choosing lots of different colored produce guarantees you’re getting a variety of nutrients. Go organic on the “toxic twelve:”apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, raspberries, spinach and strawberries.

Remember, each meal you eat, you make a decision- will I eat a good meal, or a bad meal? If you mess up at breakfast, try to be good at lunch. Most of us aren’t good 100% of the time. I figure if I’m good 80% of the time, my body can recuperate from the other 20% of the time that I’m trashing it.

Exercise. No excuses. Buy a book or a bicycle, join a gym, or get a group of like-minded friends together and start your own group.

The minimum-

For cardio: 3-4 times aerobic something or other per week for 30 minutes. Running is great, but other exercises which avoid impact will be better for your joints in the long run.

To know you are reaching an aerobic heart rate:

You want to get your heart beating at a rate 70%-80% of its maximum heart rate. This is called the target zone. To calculate your target zone:

1. Subtract your age from 220. This is your maximum heart rate.
   • For example, I am 49 years old. 220 - 49 = 171. 171 is my maximum heart rate.
2. Calculate the upper and lower number of beats for your target zone.
   • For me:
     • 171 x 70% = 120 beats per minute
     • 171 x 80% = 137 beats per minutes
3. So I need to get my heart rate between 120 and 137 beats per minute.

To measure my heart rate, I check my pulse by counting the number of beats per 10 seconds, and multiplying by 6.

For muscle and bone strength: Minimum weight resistance exercises 2-4 times per week for 15 minutes.

I accomplish this with a set of dumb bells and a weight bench in my basement. If you’re just starting out, there’s a number of good books out there, or you can join a gym and work with a personal trainer.

Here are some exercise books I’ve enjoyed over the years:

Start Strong, Finsh Strong, by Kenneth Cooper
Body for Life by Bill Phillips
The Fat-Burning Work Out by Joyce Vedral

A Network of Friends and Family

Take the time to form friendships, whether it be by

• joining a club,
• having coffee regularly at a local coffee shop, or
• getting to know people by blogging.

Once you get out there, you’ll find a lot of people such as yourself doing the same thing. Make some younger friends. If you’re in a couple, try to have a few separate friends.

Engaging in Enjoyable Activities

Free time at last! This is what you’ve been waiting for! Finally you have the time to pursue your lost passions. Rekindle a hobby, work on your golf handicap, go to that museum.

Remember, your biggest enemy is inactivity, both mentally and physically.

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