Home

The “Rule of 100” investment strategy

by
Rule of 100
business.financialpost.com

When I was in my late 20’s I started planning for my retirement.  I was not afraid of risk and so I purchased several mutual fund accounts focused mostly on foreign and domestic stocks.  When I retired from teaching at the age of 55 my investments were in a bit more conservative portfolio which included bonds.  I had followed the “Rule of 100,” which is a measure whereby you subtract your age from 100 to determine the approximate percentage your assets could be invested in stocks (more risk). The rest should be invested conservatively (less risk). For example, I am now 57 years old; 100 minus 57 is 43. So the Rule of 100 would suggest I have 57 percent invested in lower risk accounts (cash and bonds) and 43 percent could be placed in higher risk accounts (stocks). Therefore, the older you are the more conservative your portfolio should be since you don’t have time to make up any losses due to a downturn in the stock market.

This is my current asset allocation in my retirement investment portfolio at age 57:

  • 13%     Cash
  • 37%     Bonds
  • 28%     Large Cap Stock
  • 15%     Mid/Small Stock
  • 7%       International Stock

So, you can see I have 50% of my portfolio in cash and bonds (low risk) and 50% in stocks.  Pretty close to the Rule of 100 suggestion.  However, my online financial advisors at VOYA Financial suggest I put less in bonds (24%) and more in international stock (23%) since I have time to recoup any losses and current interest rates are low.  Their investment strategy does not follow the Rule of 100.  That Rule is no longer suggested due to low interest rates.  Read more about this and other common investment rules which no longer apply.

I may consider adding more international stock to my portfolio in the near future, making it a bit more risky, as our economy appears to be changing.  What is your current asset allocation?  Do you still follow the Rule of 100?

 

Do I really need an annual physical?

by

Make the Most of Your Annual Checkup

by Nellie S. Huang for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

October, 2016

“You feel fine.  You rarely get sick.  So do you really need an annual physical?

If you’re completely healthy, a ‘well’ visit once a year won’t improve on perfection. But feeling healthy and staying healthy are two different things, says David Meyers, chief medical officer for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. That’s where a regular visit, if not a head-to-toe annual physical, comes in. Nowadays, these appointments are preventive and goal-oriented. You and your doctor will make key decisions to keep you healthy, such as whether you should take a cholesterol-lowering drug or whether you need a colonoscopy.

annual physical
reference.com

The focus is on ongoing care, and the actual exam “is the least important thing that happens,” says Jack Der-Sarkissian, a Kaiser Permanente family physician in Hollywood, Calif. Your doctor will still read your vital signs, scan for skin cancer and perform other tests you’d expect. But it’s the resulting game plan that counts most. Der-Sarkissian equates a preventive visit with a meeting with your investment adviser. You should leave your doctor’s office with a goal of where you want to be, healthwise, in 10 years and an action plan to achieve it.”

To get the most from your doctor’s visit

Hospice–The Last Journey

by

Acts of Kindness:  The Last Journey

Published on Oct 18, 2016

Credit: Steven Aitchison

YouTube.com

Questing–Transform your retirement

by
questing
connecthearing.ca

“The Search for Significance

We have found in our research that all individuals feel the most satisfied with their life when they are on a search for significance, whether they acknowledge it or not.  Americans need to know that their lives have meaning and purpose: we are not just passing time and taking up space.  The success of Pastor Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life (it has sold 25 million copies and is the best-selling hardcover book in American history), speaks to our hunger for significance.  The most mentally healthy retirees are those who have found ways to satisfy their search for significance.

In seeking to understand and flesh out this important concept, we developed a comparison we call adventure vs. quest.  As adventure is an activity that benefits the person, such as playing tennis or traveling.  Adventures are an important part of health living and are what most individuals look forward to when they think about retirement.  However, an adventure has no sustainable significance.

In contrast, a quest involves one or more participants lending themselves to a greater cause.  A quest transforms a poor or average retirement into a mind-blowing, all-fulfilling, energized retirement journey.  The possibilities are endless and only limited by our unwillingness to expand our horizons. Examples of possible quests include:

  • Regularly scheduled volunteering (individual or organizing a group)
  • Mentoring someone younger than yourself (adult or child)
  • Teaching classes to adults or children or
  • Catastrophe relief efforts

Read more

Have you made any new year’s resolutions?

by

I try to make goals every year which typically include getting more exercise and learning something new.  Below is an article I came across about leading a “purposeful life after retirement.”  I think we could look at the list below as a list of possible resolutions.  Which one could you add to your list this year to lead a more “purposeful life?”

new year's resolutionsHow to Live a Purposeful Life After Retirement

Look at retirement as a time to do what you love and to try new things.

By

Medically Reviewed by Pat F. Bass, III, MD, MPH

“Having a sense of purpose could add years to your life, according to a study published in 2014 in Psychological Science. Researchers from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and the University of Rochester in New York, tracked the physical and mental health of more than 7,000 American adults ages 20 to 75 for 14 years, and found that those who felt they had a purpose or direction in life outlived those who did not.

Once you retire and your children have left home, it’s easy to feel as though you have nothing left to accomplish. But older adults can still have career goals and direction, just in a different way, says E. Christine Moll, PhD, a professor in the department of counseling and human services at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, and member of the American Counseling Association.

The key, she says with a nod to Jimmy Buffett, is having an attitude of gratitude: Be grateful for what you’ve done and where you’ve been, and look forward to more of the same. ‘Keep doing,’ Dr. Moll advises, perhaps by following one of these 10 ways to live a more purposeful life:

  1. Join a gym
  2. Continue your hobbies
  3. Become politically active
  4. Try something new
  5. Go back to school
  6. Volunteer
  7. Immerse yourself in culture
  8. Get into games
  9. Become an emeritus
  10. Babysit”

Read more details and suggestions on how to live a more purposeful life

Happy New Year!

by

I want to take a moment to thank the 300+ visitors to Living Life Retired (LLR) who keep me writing. I appreciate you and wish you all a very Happy New Year!

happy new year
321happynewyear.com

This site was launched on August 22, 2016, and through the end of 2016 it has received visitors from the following countries:

  • United States
  • Austria
  • Italy
  • Germany
  • UK
  • Netherlands
  • Russia
  • India
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Kazakhstan
  • Philippines
  • Australia

I appreciate those of you who have joined the LLR community by subscribing or by commenting on various posts.  I would love to hear from all of you during 2017.  Please let me know what topics you are interested in or any concerns you may have as a fellow solo retiree.  Just fill out the comment section below and I will consider your concerns and ideas for future posts.

Let’s get this community going and start talking to each other!  We all know it gets lonely out here at times.  I’ll start by wishing you all a very healthy, productive, joyous, and activity-rich new year!  May God bless you all in this new year!

Billy Graham, 98, offers hope to the grieving and lonely

by
lonliness
pinterest.com

Are you experiencing grief or loneliness during this holiday season?  The article below and Billy Graham’s advice may offer some hope.  Click on the Bowling Green Daily News link to see the original column and Graham’s three suggestions for dealing with the “overwhelmed with sorrow” feeling during the holidays.

Billy Graham says death is not the end for terminally ill Christians

by Jardine Malado, The Christian Times

December 28, 2016

“Famed evangelist Billy Graham encouraged terminally ill Christians not to give up on life and look at their situation from God’s point of view so that they may realize that death is not the end for them.

In his advice column in the Bowling Green Daily News on Dec. 20, a terminally-ill woman told Graham that the doctors have predicted that this year’s Christmas might be her last due to an inoperable tumor. She said that she is having a hard time trying to pretend like she’s enjoying the holidays.

‘How can anyone in my situation be cheerful at Christmas?’ the woman who is known only as Mrs. L.L asked.

Graham encouraged the woman to try to change her attitude and look at her own life from God’s point of view.

‘How does God see you? He sees you first of all as someone He deeply loves. You are not insignificant; you aren’t something for whom death is the end,’ the evangelist wrote.

‘Listen: God loves you! He loves you so much that 2,000 years ago He came into this world in the person of His Son, so you could have your sins forgiven and go to be with Him in Heaven forever,’ he continued.”

Read more