You make a nice living. You have years and years of experience. Now you’re getting ready to retire. Let me tell you, it’s time to know what you don’t know, because you don’t get a second chance to recover from innocent mistakes.

What kind of mistakes? Well, I got a call the other day from a gentleman who has all of his funds inside retirement accounts. He did not realize that upon retirement he will have to pay income tax on every dollar that he withdraws from these accounts.

Maybe that sounds like a minor error, but it means he does not and will not have enough money to support the lifestyle that he and his wife would like.

It is amazing to me that someone can work their whole life to accumulate a substantial nest egg and then think they have the expertise and knowledge necessary to make this money last the rest of their life when retirement planning and investments are not their area of expertise.

If you do your own planning, before you make any major retirement or investing decisions promise me that at a minimum you will read the following three books:

This article definitely caught my attention! At 107, the article says Larry Haubner is active, vigorous and healthy, takes no medications, and is able to lift his walker over his head! I love it. I’ll happily live to 107 if I’m alert and still enjoying life. I love seeing how the world changes and all the new things we invent.

How, though, do you make sure you have enough money? Either you spend very frugally when you are younger, or you take what you do have and at some point you purchase an immediate annuity, one of the few ways you can insure that you don't outlive your money.

I was having a conversation with a colleague of mine yesterday when she casually mentioned something about putting herself on a weekly allowance. The idea intrigued me, so I asked her more.

As she shared her thoughts I wondered how it is that as adults we can so easily disregard some of those valuable lessons we were supposed to have learned as children. Think of where you would be if you had always used the idea of a weekly allowance, and saved the rest. I know I'd be sitting on a nice pile of cash right now!

Well, it’s not too late. Read more about my colleague’s thoughts in The Weekly Budget Allowance For Adults. It’s an old idea worth exploring anew.

I was driving along last night and found myself stuck behind a city bus. There plastered across the backside of the busy was a full size ad by a law firm in town that is known to advertise heavily. It said,

“Bankruptcy By Phone! Zero down, low monthly payments, 24 hours a day!”

Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. No, I’m not surprised there is bankruptcy by phone, but to advertise it on the city bus, well, something about that just doesn’t seem right to me.

Unfortunately, in the current environment of higher unemployment bankruptcy will become a necessity for more and more. If you want to know more, here is an article that gives you an overview of the different types of bankruptcy and what you can do if you find yourself behind on your bills.