Monthly Archives: June 2021

Would you like to stay in an igloo when your trip resumes? – Ohionewstime.com

Posted: June 27, 2021 at 4:01 am

Is your passport up to date? Friends or loved ones who are excited to meet directly outside the backyard?

Stay tuned for Netflixs latest series, The Greatest Vacation Rental in the World, and discover ideas for places, experiences, and places to stay. It will make you joking for the trip.

During the eight episodes, viewers will be treated to adventures to Bali, Northwest / Southwest America, Hawaii, Gourmet Food Retreats, Strange Bed & Breakfast, and Private Islands. Viewers are YouTubers Megan Batoon (self-proclaimed DIY-er as a design gal), Joe Franco (lifestyle and travel influencer), and Bravo Reality TV series Million Dollar List New York. During each episode, the trio Choose vacation rentals based on different price ranges. Batoon chooses the best budget vacation rentals. Franco shows us a unique vacation rental. Ortiz offers luxury rentals. The group will stay at each facility for two nights and test them while providing tips and cultural details about the area and facility. Trips range from the four-story Birds Nest in the middle of Balis paddy fields to Alaskas luxury resorts where glacier ice cocktails are made.

I think vacation rentals, especially going on summer trips and going on, are great options for people who want to go a little more remote, have more privacy and space, Franco said. There are so many options. Many of these types of shows looking at extraordinary homes and vacation rentals have nothing to do with pricing, but not at our show.

We talked to Franco before the shows Friday premiere to find out what travelers can expect in a world that is still upset by the pandemic and its impact. Franco has traveled to more than 50 countries and speaks 6-7 languages (she is currently learning Arabic in Egypt). The following interviews have been summarized and edited.

Q: Are all these properties on Airbnb and VRBO, or are they hard to find?

A: These locations are listed on these vacation rental platforms. Its really just a matter of digging. The cool thing is that the show is like a catalog of the best places. We did a search and found some really great stays and life-changing experiences thats an aspect of my trip. I have traveled for 10 years, and when I travel, I think lets go learn new things. Learn languages, learn cultures and meet people. So, with the vacation rental I chose, I can see that were jumping into the interaction with the host and the context there. Thats really special to me. These platforms allow us to see the world as a place to stop by as a tourist, not just as a classroom.

Q: Has the pandemic changed your travel perspective?

A: I think the pandemic has made safety a top priority for most people. The pandemic showed how global we really are. One thing happens in one country and the next month in another. Its very difficult to swallow. But my belief that travel is the best education hasnt changed. If we do it safely, if we protect ourselves and others, its a way for me to live my life personally and to others about myself in the world A way to encourage exploration and learning. Im looking forward to seeing the trip reopen. What people want to get from the show is just to get out there, look at the world, experience a rich life and learn things, not this glamorous and fascinating unattainable thing. The opportunity is to actually see the trip. What you have never learned. And to understand how big the world is.

From left, Megan Batoon, Luis Ortiz and Joe Franco, Luis Ortiz from The Worlds Greatest Vacation Rental: Season 1.

Netflixs Worlds Greatest Vacation Rental Offers Ideas

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Would you like to stay in an igloo when your trip resumes? - Ohionewstime.com

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Private aviation firm Yugo pursuing growth in PHL – BusinessWorld Online

Posted: at 4:01 am

PRIVATE aviation company Yugo announced on Wednesday the expansion of its destinations in the Philippines, saying it increased its customers in the country in less than a year.

Currently, Yugo has been expanding in the Philippines and has been growing its local Filipino customers in less than a year amid the ongoing health crisis, the company said in an e-mailed statement.

Yugo Private Aviation provides private flights by helicopters and business jets through its air mobility platform.

The company said Yugo is the first air mobility platform that connects Southeast Asia to the whole of Asia-Pacific.

With only a few clicks and based on their preferences, users are able to request or search flight of private jets and helicopters from a curated inventory of available flights and routes, it noted.

It currently serves 150 destinations in Asia with over 50 aircraft from Gulfstream, Bombardier, Cessna Textron Aviation, and Dassault Aviation, among others.

The jets and helicopters are selected for the comfort and privacy of Filipino and Asian passengers from Dubai to Boracay, Cebu to Bali, Davao to Shanghai, El Nido to Johor Bahru, and Tuguegarao to Subic who are traveling for business or leisure, Yugo said.

Yugo Chief Executive Officer Jim Baldy said the global health crisis has greatly tested the resilience of the company.

We have adjusted our value proposition as well as our hospitality and butler services to best serve our customers in the most flexible, safe and secured way possible. And with all the obstacles and difficulties we faced due to the pandemic, we had to find ways to innovate and move forward through 2020 and 2021, Mr. Baldy explained.

According to the company, some of the most popular services among its Filipino customers are on-demand helicopter flights, helicopter tours, airport transfers, transfers to private islands, cross-border medical flights, in-country emergency evacuations, and cross-border business jets flights.

Our mission is to provide the possibility for our customers to fly private anywhere, anytime, by helicopters or private jets, Yugo Commercial Operations Manager Camille Ngo said. We are evolving together with the industry towards a more sustainable approach to improve aviation as a whole, taking into account environmental aspects and societal responsibility. Arjay L. Balinbin

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Private aviation firm Yugo pursuing growth in PHL - BusinessWorld Online

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Behind the Scenes: On the Hunt for the Real Ghislaine Maxwell – Rolling Stone

Posted: at 4:01 am

By now, the story of Jeffrey Epstein is well known. When the accused sex trafficker died officially ruled a suicide by hanging in his jail cell almost two years ago the public was left baffled alongside victims that were denied justice. There seemed to be much more to the story than the satisfaction of one mans carnal needs. What about the mystery of his money, videotapes, rumors of spies and blackmail, and boldface names deleted from court records?

Then a keeper of the key to those secrets was arrested in New Hampshire last summer. British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell swanned around Manhattan for decades, but the general public first got to know her in August 2019 when a New York judge released some 2,000 pages of previously sealed pages of a defamation lawsuit against her.

It was immediately clear why Maxwell had wanted the documents sealed. The lurid allegations in those pages exposed the true scale of the sex trafficking and power, access and money that enabled the legal impunity behind Epsteins first slap-on-the-wrist jail term. I believe their release just 24 hours before he was found hanging in his federal jail cell almost certainly had something to do with his death.

As the shock of Epsteins death was still settling in, I wrote a story for Rolling Stone laying out the allegations in the previously unseen depositions. Dozens of people made similar allegations about Maxwells role in an industrial-scale grooming and soliciting operation cruising South Florida strip clubs, spas and even a Christian college. The documents included statements not just from teen girls (now women), but eyewitnesses including private pilots, butlers, house managers and chauffeurs.

Now those documents, supplemented with other legal material and interviews with legal experts, intelligence agents and society figures, some of whom have never spoken out before, are the basis of a new three-part documentary that illuminates the life and story of Ghislaine Maxwell, the mystery woman Epstein left holding the bag of his secrets, as one former CIA agent told Rolling Stone. During the past year, I worked as an executive producer on this documentary series, Epsteins Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell, that will start streaming Thursday on Peacock.

Her story starts in Britain, where she grew up rich and connected, the last and most favorite child of the legendary media figure and, it turned out, alleged international financial criminal and spy, Robert Maxwell. Sources tell us thats where she first encountered Epstein.

The connection between Jeffrey Epstein and Robert Maxwell dated back to London in the 1980s, when Epstein, fresh off a legal near-miss in a massive Wall Street fraud case, had rolled into London and allegedly worked with a British financier named Douglas Leese. Leese taught the rough Coney Island-bred American the ways of the British aristocracy, including how to dress for a weekend hunt. During those years, Epstein first linked up with Robert Maxwell, who introduced him to Ghislaine, who fell in love with him. What Ghislaine saw in Epstein was her fathers image, said Epsteins former business partner Steven Hoffenberg, who called them soulmates.

The parallels between Ghislaines father Robert Maxwell and Epstein are uncanny. Both men were born into meager circumstances Maxwell to a large family of Czech peasants and Epstein to a Coney Island parks groundskeeper and both grew up to become experts in the shadow world of off-shoring money. (Maxwell famously helped hide money stolen by a Bulgarian dictator, as well as somehow losing track of $450 million in pension funds for his own media empire employees.) Both men died under mysterious circumstances that have officially been deemed suicide. Maxwells body was found in the waters off the Canary Islands, where he had been yachting, a death that his daughter has publicly claimed to believe was a murder.

The second and third parts of the story we wanted to tell are mostly on American soil, and mostly in New York and Florida. We sought to answer questions about how and why a woman networked into the highest echelons of finance and society ended up in a Brooklyn jail cell, and accused in public documents of being a chief procuress of a supply of pubescent girls, some of whom have said they were not only forced to have sex with Epstein, but with powerful men in rooms wired up with cameras.

The task seemed easy, at first. A prominent socialite, Ghislaine had been photographed smiling beside a veritable gossip columnists registry of bold face names. For decades, she had swanned and slipped around the pinnacle of high society, associating with male billionaires and their female consorts.

We called hundreds of them. For the most part, we got no comment, or more often, no answers at all. One prominent New Yorker picked up the phone and when I explained what I was looking to discuss, hastily said that her doctor was on the other line, urgently needing to discuss something. She never called back.

Others who vaporized were a wealthy heiress who had named Maxwell as godmother to her children, and one who harbored her during her year in hiding. Now they were hiding themselves.

Maxwell had gone from being a society insider with a naughty sense of humor to social plutonium. She herself had gone into hiding, except for one photo, widely believed to have been faked, in which she appears to be wink-winking at the spy rumors by reading a book about the CIA at an In-n-Out Burger in L.A.

Some people did talk to us, on and off camera. All confirmed that Maxwell had served as Epsteins society networker. The contacts in his notorious little black book were, we learned, at least 80 percent her friends, not his. Besides that document, photos show the reach of her access: there she is with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, there she is at Chelsea Clintons wedding, there with Bill on a private jet. There is more too. Maxwells name is listed on a flow chart of the earliest members of an elite billionaires club in Manhattan, not just as a member, but a recruiter of other high-profile members.

What did Epstein, a man with private jets, mansions in New York, Paris, and Santa Fe and his own private island, actually do for a living? Mystified Wall Street insiders say that he seemed to have little or no investment skills. And yet, Les Wexner gave him power over his fortune for years, and billionaire Leon Black paid him $150 million in the years after he was let out of a Palm Beach jail.

We picked up glimmers of his M.O. David Marchant, who investigates offshore money havens, speculated that Epstein knew how to hide money. Another source who declined to go on camera recalled that Epstein bragged that flying Prince Andrew around the world on his private jet was personally lucrative because the Prince served as the U.K. trade representative and Epstein could follow him into meetings with third world kleptocrats who needed his money-caching skills.

Rumors and speculation about intelligence connections swirl around the saga. Robert Maxwell is widely believed to have worked officially or unofficially for the KGB and Mossad, serving as a go-between and sometimes actual agent for both. He reportedly played a role as a bagman in the Iran Contra weapons deal, and helped the CIA get spyware into the Soviet Union. He definitely had ties to KGB, said ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame. He was used as an access agent to the very upper-crust of British society, British aristocracy.

Intelligence insiders told us Epsteins sex trafficking operation also looks like a kompromat op (essentially an operation to collect damaging information on decision-makers, with which to influence them) for some intelligence service. When this story first broke, I said to a former CIA colleague of mine, How many different intelligence organizations do you think are involved in this? Because this had an intelligence operation written all over it, former operative John Kiriakou told us. What any intelligence officer wants to do, needs to do to get promoted, to make a name for himself or herself is to recruit spies to steal secrets. So what better secrets do you want to steal than those held by the most important people in the world? Former presidents, titans of business, politicians.

One prominent New Yorker who associated with Epstein socially in New York recalled that Jeff had a knack for eliciting peoples needs and wants so effectively and quickly after meeting them, that it was as if hed been trained.

Where does all that leave Ghislaine Maxwell? Was she in love with Epstein or working for him? And why? Its not unusual to have intelligence services, once they have an access agent or informant, ask that individual to reach out to their children and bring them in, Plame told us. Usually for the same motivations that they got the first one.

The mystery of Ghislaine Maxwell might never be definitively solved, but her story exposes a shadow world of borderless wealth, where operators face off against influencers, secrets are worth money, and civilian laws dont always apply.

Nina Burleigh is an executive producer of, and interviewed in, the three-part documentary series, Epsteins Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell, produced by Blue Ant Studios. The original series will be available to stream on Peacock on June 24th.

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The FIRE movement: How to retire early with no mortgage debt – Fox Business

Posted: at 3:58 am

If you have a personal finance goal to retire early, you may be wondering how your mortgage might affect this. Learn more about paying off your mortgage before retirement. (iStock)

One in three Americans has made retiring early a financial goal, according to a report from the financial research firm Hearts & Wallets. Early retirement generally refers to becoming financially independent before becoming eligible for Social Security. The FIRE movement, which stands for "financial independence, retire early," is based on the goal that you can save and invest aggressively to speed up the time it takes you to retire.

While investing in retirements can certainly help you with financial planning, getting rid of debts like your mortgage before you retire can also free up a ton of money. Plus, you wont have to think about making a sizable mortgage payment each month during your retired years. Luckily, you dont have to choose between retiring early and paying off your mortgage.

Early retirement planning is made even easier if you can pay off your home loan at a lower interest rate. Use an online mortgage marketplace like Credible to compare mortgage rates and save for retirement.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOURE PREPARED FOR EARLY RETIREMENT

See how a mortgage fits into your budget

Its common for someone pursuing early retirement to put 50% or more of their income into saving accounts and retirement accounts. Early on, youll need to ask yourself if its possible to manage a mortgage while aggressively saving for your retirement fund. Trying to tackle both goals at once may require you to buy a smaller home or move to a more affordable area of the country with modest real estate costs.

Either way, youll want to use an online mortgage calculator, like this one from Credible, to help you determine how much your monthly payments will cost. Once you calculate your potential mortgage payment, assess whether theres room in your budget for additional savings and extra mortgage payments. You may need to adjust your budget and make some cuts to ensure you can live comfortably while paying off the mortgage and pursuing your goal of reaching FIRE.

RETIRING WITH STUDENT LOANS? WHAT TO DO FIRST

Eliminate all other debt before you take out a mortgage

Mortgage debt tends to have a much lower interest rate than other types of debt. This is why it will make more sense financially to tackle all your other consumer debt and save your mortgage for last.

With credit card interest rates on new accounts hovering around 20%, set a plan to pay off all your credit card balances and keep them paid off. Then, you can move on to personal loans, your auto loan, and student loan debt. When your mortgage is your only remaining debt left, youll just have two main financial goals:

Paying off all your other debt can free up hundreds to thousands of dollars that can go toward savings each month. Plus, youll lower your credit utilization ratio, which is your account balance vs. the total credit limit youve been given. This can increase your credit score exponentially.

HOW TO MANAGE DEBT AHEAD OF RETIREMENT

Get the lowest mortgage rate possible

If youre looking to buy a home now, whats great is that mortgage rates are still low. Securing a lower mortgage rate can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. Using an online loan marketplace like Credible helps you compare mortgage rates and loan offers from lenders in the most efficient way possible.

If you already have a mortgage but are looking to lower your interest rate to save money, Credible can help you compare the top mortgage lenders to help you refinance your mortgage. Shopping around lets you know that youre getting the lowest mortgage interest rate for your financial situation.

SHOULD YOU REFINANCE YOUR MORTGAGE IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO RETIRE EARLY?

Pay off your mortgage fast

Of course, youll want to pay off your mortgage faster as youre saving and investing aggressively. If you have a 30-year mortgage, consider making additional principal payments each month or making bi-weekly payments. If you get paid every two weeks, youll automatically make an extra mortgage payment each year by switching to bi-weekly payments.

You can also refinance to a 15-year term mortgage so more of your payment will go toward paying down the mortgage principal. Accelerate your mortgage payments by putting in extra money from work bonuses, tax refunds, or other cash windfalls to pay off your home loan.

HOW TO SAVE FOR RETIREMENT IN 2021

Retiring early with a mortgage is possible

Its common for someone pursuing FIRE to save 50% of their income, pay off debts, and maximize investments to reach financial independence in their 30s, 40s, or 50s. That said, it is possible to retire early and pay off your mortgage. Doing so will free up more money in your budget and eliminate the stress of having to make a large monthly housing payment that eats into your retirement income.

Informed financial planning is the key to retiring early. Save money where you can by securing a lower mortgage interest rate and paying off other high-interest debts.

Youll need a place to live whether youre retired or not. So consider using Credible to shop around for the best mortgage rates and offers so you can find the best mortgage option for you.

Have a finance-related question, but don't know who to ask?Email The Credible Money Expert atmoneyexpert@credible.comand your question might be answeredby Crediblein our Money Expert column.

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The FIRE movement: How to retire early with no mortgage debt - Fox Business

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How to get a $1 million financial education that costs next to nothing – MarketWatch

Posted: at 3:58 am

Call me a tightwad, but I like really good things that are free. If you do too, youre in the right place.

Today Im going to recommend three financial books you can get free. Each one is worth a lot if you take it seriously and act on it.

Ill point you to video lectures for young people (my 11-year-old grandson loves some of these), parents and teachers.

Adults interested in retiring early can tap into resources that a lot of smart people find very helpful.

One way or another, youve already paid for a U.S. government site filled with good information and tips that investment scammers dont really want you to learn.

Finally, for some college-level insight into finance and investing, you can take a free seven-week course from a Yale professor.

Free books

Lets start with If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly by William Bernstein. Bill is one of the smartest people I know of: a retired neurologist and investment adviser whose The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio has been one of the most frequently recommended investment books for the past 20 years.

If You Can is Bernsteins recommendation for an investment plan that a 7-year-old can understand, using just three mutual funds. Bernstein says its likely to outperform 90% of financial professionals in the long run.

Bernstein identifies five major hurdles facing young investors and tells how to overcome them. For serious students, he includes a good reading list.

The price: Free.

Financial Fysics is another free book, this one available in the Apple Bookstore and written by my friend Don McDonald. These pages are filled with common sense.

One of my favorite parts is his frank discussion of how to make money. There are only three ways, he says: luck, hard work and crime.

Don wants us to unlearn a lesson on how the stock market works thats still taught in some schools: Choose a stock, then follow its price for a week or two to see how successful you were.

That may take some of the mystery out of the market, but it leaves students with at least four awful lessons:

Don says his book is for people who are ready to invest like grown-ups.

The price: Free.

Late last year, Richard Buck and I finished Were Talking Millions! 12 Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Retirement.

This book, available without charge to anyone who wants it, outlines a dozen million-dollar decisions that every first-time investor makes then prescribes a two-fund solution that makes most of those choices for you, correctly and automatically.

The book is aimed at investors in their 20s and 30s, but its two funds for life formula can beef up any portfolio.

Price: Free.

Get an education

A university education costs a lot these days, but its amazing what you can get online. At http://www.coursera.org, youll find more than 1,700 free courses from prestigious institutions such as Stanford, Duke, University of London, Vanderbilt, University of Chicago and many more.

The sites most popular investment course is Financial Markets, full of college-level material and taught by Yale economics professor Robert Shiller.

More than 900,000 people are enrolled in this (so dont expect a lot of personal attention). The course focuses on behavioral economics, the study of how psychology influences what we do, say, and think regarding money.

The course includes 127 videos, a few reading assignments and a few quizzes. Its organized into seven modules, each designed to be done in about a week.

Price: Free.

For younger folks, take my grandsons word about the video education provided by Scott Alan Turner. Hes wacky, hes funny, and kids will think he is really cool.

For example, heres a three-hour course thats designed for students in Grades 3 through 6 that covers topics like saving, spending, emergencies, jobs, and careers.

Turner also offers a class on planning for college.

Price: Free.

Lots of young investors are eager to achieve financial independence and saving and investing with the goal of retiring in their 40s and 50s.

The ChooseFi International Foundation offers an excellent online course called Financial Independence 101 and has local groups all over the world that meet regularly.

At http://www.fiology.com, you can sign up for a free 52-lesson course, Your Guide to Financial Independence, which includes an excellent workbook and guide.

Price: Free.

The United States government has put together an impressive collection of resources and tools at http://www.investor.gov.

Here you can check up on a financial adviser, get help in understanding fees and scams, determine your required minimum distribution in a flash, calculate how your savings will grow, learn about 529 college savings plans. And much more.

Price: Free (You already paid for this.)

I want to also call your attention to an online treasure chest for anybody whos teaching young people about money and investing.

The resources available at http://www.ngpf.org are available to the public at no charge.

The organization, founded and funded by Tim Ranzetta and JessicaEndlich, has one overriding goal: Establish at least one semester of personal finance instruction as a universal requirement for high school graduation and do it by 2030.

I interviewed Tim a while back, and you can listen to our conversation on YouTube or in this podcast.

Price: Free.

All these resources are free, but theres another cost: your time.

Your time is valuable. But even if you believe youre worth 10 times the minimum wage (Im not disputing that, by the way), the payoff for a good financial education can be tremendous.

As a special reward to readers whove made it this far, heres a freebie I can personally vouch for: a recording of a talk I gave to college students at Western Washington University in which I discuss the 12 million-dollar decisions in one of the free books I mentioned earlier.

Price: Free.

Richard Buck contributed to this article.

Paul Merriman and Richard Buck are the authors ofWere Talking Millions! 12 Simple Ways To Supercharge Your Retirement.

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We need to remember that smart retirement is about everything other than money – Financial Post

Posted: at 3:58 am

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FP Investor talks retirement planning with author Mike Drak

Author of the article:

Mike Drak is the author of Retirement Heaven and Hell. As with his previous book, Victory Lap Retirement, his new book takes a less common approach to planning. Drak is more focused on lifestyle planning, so retirees can actually enjoy themselves. Its not, he reminds us, all about money (though it helps to have it as well).In some ways, Draks approach shares a lot with the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement. But as he explains, following the RE part can get you way off course and even make you miserable. It turns out the best mix for most of us is to retire and keep working.

FP Investor: Mike, many of us spend our lives saving and investing for retirement, yet both your retirement books are about almost everything but money. Is the problem that people focus too much on money? Or that they have the money part figured out and just dont know what to with their money and themselves once they actually retire?

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Drak: The financial services industry has conditioned people to believe that transitioning to a successful retirement is simply a math problem that can be solved by simply saving more money. Thats wrong. You need to have a good handle on what the money you saved is for the retirement lifestyle those investments are going to fund for the next 30-plus years. Unfortunately, most people have no idea about the type of lifestyle they want to enjoy in retirement.

The advertisers complicate things further by brainwashing us into believing that a successful retirement is based 100 per cent on leisure, which is also not true. The truth is, to enjoy a successful retirement you need to know what type of retiree you are and you need to find a way to satisfy your own unique needs, values and wants. Again, this is something that most retirees have no idea about.

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FP Investor: You have a spouse who can manage your money. Most people dont. What do you advise people to do when they ask you about building wealth?

Drak: Simple, either learn how to do it on their own or engage the services of a trusted financial advisor.

FP Investor: You had about 38 years in banking. What are the best lessons those years taught you about the value and role of money?

Drak: The most important lesson I learned was about the power of compounding. I also learned that carrying debt was a bad thing and debt needed to be eliminated as quickly as possible. Over the years I watched many people crash and burn because they lived beyond their means and had no savings to fall back on.

FP Investor:You write about becoming a retirement rebel. What exactly is that and who are you rebelling against?

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Drak: I love retirement rebels because they are boomers just like me who are rebelling against the old-fashion beliefs about old-people and being retired. They are the trailblazers who are putting their own spin on the long-established retirement rules and showing us new ways of living and working.

We have been led to believe that people arent supposed to be celebrating their 100th birthday by going skydiving, or attempting an Ironman in their 80s, or starting a new business in their 70s, or going back and finishing that degree they never finished in their 90s, but they are and they are the people having all the fun in retirement.

Retirement rebels remain kids at heart, living on the edge, exploring their potential, travelling to new places, meeting new people, learning new technology, entering marathons in different countries and posting all about it on social media.

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The advertisers need to change their old-style retirement commercials and tell us stories about what other retirement rebels are doing today for inspiration and to serve as role models.

FP Investor: Reaching financial independence and retiring early sounds like a great idea if you can do it. What is it about the FIRE people that sets them apart?

Drak: I like the FIRE concept and it is something Ive taught my kids about. I just dont like the RE part. Everyone that I know who achieved FIRE early is still working to some degree. There is a message there. The beauty about FIRE is that you get your freedom back and can choose how you want to live out the rest of your life.

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FP Investor: How diverse is the FIRE community? There are devoted subgroups on Twitter who worship dividend stocks, and some are globetrotters, while others live happily in their vans.

Drak: There are many different FIRE levels. It all comes down to what type of lifestyle you want to enjoy post-FIRE. For example, you could live in someones garage and be financially independent, but do you really want to live like that? I guess you could describe my lifestyle as FIRE-plus. Im still generating some active income as a buffer against longevity. Benjamin Graham would refer to it as a margin of safety.

FP Investor: When you meet your readers, what do they usually want to ask you?

Drak: After writing my first book Victory Lap Retirement they asked me to write a book that would show them step-by-step how to transition to retirement. Retirement Heaven or Hellis a DIY retirement transition guide and its all about retirement lifestyle design.

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When I meet with my readers its fun to talk about the lifestyles they have designed for themselves and how they managed to find purpose in retirement. I love hearing their stories and how creative they were.

FP Investor: How important is it to have a financial adviser and for what service?

Drak: People who are not well-versed in investing should use the services of a financial adviser. Everyone needs to have a financial plan that works for them.

That includes widowers who had their spouses manage their money and who know little about investing and have no intention of learning, and need a trusted financial advisor. So many widowers are scared about investing so they keep the bulk of their savings in cash or short-term investments, which drives me crazy because inflation is killing them. Also, they need to be protected from the sharks out there, which sometimes includes their own family members.

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FP Investor: What for you was the biggest adjustment in learning self awareness and changing your own behaviour and attitude to retirement?

Drak: I had to relearn what made me happy and what my values were, something that I had forgotten while working in the corporate world. I then needed to find a way to satisfy my values, needs and wants on a regular basis or I wouldnt be happy.

I also had to become the real me, if that makes sense, and become authentic. In the corporate world I wasnt. I was a fake.

FP Investor: What is the biggest difference someone who is 35 today should be thinking about versus for you when you were 35?

Drak: Back when I was 35 it was all about working hard, providing financial security for my family and putting some money away for retirement. Today, because of job insecurity, stress is much higher for someone that age. To be honest, I dont know how some people can sleep at night, especially if they have a large mortgage along with a couple of kids.

Because of increasing longevity, people will need to work longer. And instead of having retirement as a goal, they should focus on achieving financial independence as early as they can. That is what Ive told my kids.

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We need to remember that smart retirement is about everything other than money - Financial Post

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Saving too much early to retire can be limiting – Altoona Mirror

Posted: at 3:58 am

Gwen Merz was fresh out of college in 2014, working an information technology job she hated, when she decided early retirement was the answer. She socked away every dollar she could, saving as much as 70% of her income so that she could quit when she was 35.

Now 30, Merz thinks she may have saved too much. Her job and life goals have changed, but most of her $300,000 savings is in retirement accounts that cant be touched without tax penalties. If she could do it over, she would either save less aggressively or put some of the money into a taxable investment account with less strict withdrawal rules.

I would pay a little bit more in taxes on my salary, but I would have that money available for me, says Merz, who lives in St. Louis.

Some people save prodigious amounts so they can retire early or because theyre worried they wont have enough for a comfortable retirement. But aggressive saving can have significant and sometimes unexpected costs, which is why its important to strike the right balance between saving for the future and living your life today.

Many people struggle to save anything for retirement, so the idea of saving too much may seem absurd. But there is a movement known as Financial Independence, Retire Early, or FIRE, that promotes saving enough to gain control over how you spend your days long before typical retirement age. Some FIRE bloggers retired in their 30s from well-paying jobs by dramatically cutting their expenses and saving 50% or more of their incomes.

Saving for a 20-year retirement is difficult enough. Planning for one that lasts 50 years or more often requires extreme frugality both before and after retirement, as FIRE adherents try to make their money last.

The FIRE movement inspired Merz to set her initial early retirement goal. After finding a more enjoyable job and buying a house, however, Merz has throttled back her savings goals and now plans to retire at 55. One unexpected bonus from saving less aggressively: Shes less stressed about money.

I always felt like I could do more since there were people online doing more than me, Merz says. I really put myself under a lot of unnecessary stress and strain.

Certified financial planner Malcolm Ethridge of Rockville, Maryland, doesnt try to talk his clients out of the idea of retiring young. Many work in high-paying but demanding jobs in technology or finance and are feeling burned out by 80-hour workweeks.

Youre getting compensated well for the time youre putting in, but its not sustainable, Ethridge says. Theres only so long you can burn both ends of the candle before it disappears.

Instead, he encourages them to save enough so they can switch to work theyre more passionate about, such as teaching, working for a nonprofit or starting a business.

Its not so much I hate the job as The thing that I do for a living takes a ton of my time and I dont feel like it makes the world that much better off,' Ethridge says.

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Saving too much early to retire can be limiting - Altoona Mirror

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How a Couple With 3 Kids Paid Off Their Mortgage in 10 Years – The Motley Fool

Posted: at 3:58 am

Sam and Kari Zelinka of Madison, Wisconsin, are a fascinating couple. They're comfortably employed and live below their means. Given their academic and professional backgrounds, they could have chosen to live anywhere in the world, yet they settled with their three young daughters not far from where they grew up. They're busy, but Sam finds time to produce a popular blog covering personal finance issues for federal employees.

It didn't take long into a recent interview with Sam to realize that the 38-year-old has a clear list of priorities. Not once did he mention that he was a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, bestowed by the U.S. government to a select group of scientists and engineering professionals.

Instead, Sam focused on what's important to him: His family, financial freedom, and helping other government workers navigate the myriad of (sometimes confusing) government benefits.

Here, we'll look at each of his passions and talk about how Sam and Kari managed to pay their mortgage off in 10 years -- three kids and all.

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About five years ago, the Zelinkas decided to take the path less traveled. While other couples their age were buying new SUVs and large homes to accommodate growing families, Sam and Kari decided to vanquish all debt. As they saw it, debt was all that was standing in the way of what they genuinely care about -- spending time together as a family.

They adopted tips from the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement and came up with strategies of their own to rid their lives of debt. Their two most significant financial obligations at the time were their mortgage and childcare.

As happens, the older two children aged out and moved on to grade school, which helped to minimize those costs. With only one left in daycare, it's just a matter of time before she is also in school. And so, the couple were able to turn their attention to erasing their mortgage. They still had bills to pay and monthly obligations to see to, but here's a snapshot of how they paid their mortgage off in full.

When they first married, Kari had just graduated from college and started her first job, and Sam was still in school. He admits that things were pretty tight during those days. Though they didn't know it at the time, the budgeting method they were using was "zero-based."

In short, zero-based budgeting means that there is "zero" difference between your monthly income and monthly expenses. Here's how it works:

Another smart thing Sam and Kari did was to set aside "found" money. If one of them got a raise, tax refund, or any other "extra" funds, they set the money aside to pay for expenses that were sure to arise, like car repairs, home improvements, and vacation. Everything else went into checking.

According to Sam, interest rates plunged around 2016. That's when they decided to:

As Sam explained, "It did not increase our mandatory payments by too much because the interest rates dropped, but it did greatly accelerate how much we were putting towards principal each month."

And according to Sam, every spare coin they came across went to their mortgage lender. "Sometimes, we made 10 or 12 deposits toward the principal in a month," Sam said.

While they can certainly afford a more expensive vehicle, Sam and Kari share a 2015 Mazda 5 and spend less than $2,000 on transportation -- including about $600 on full coverage auto insurance.

Otherwise, they use one of the six bikes they own to get around and even have a cargo bike large enough for a parent and all three girls. Both Sam and Kari work within two miles of home, so that means when they're not biking, they're walking to the office. The savings on transportation was one of the reasons the Zelinkas could pay down their mortgage.

According to Sam, he and Kari still have the Mazda. "We drive it less than 5,000 miles per year," he said. "I think we'll have it forever."

Living far below your means can add stress to any relationship. Sam and Kari avoid a sense of deprivation by depositing a specific amount of money each month into personal checking accounts that the other has no access to.

Sam explains: "This works out really well for us. We don't fight about whether someone is buying lunch at restaurants or fancy coffee. It's a relatively large percentage of our spending (5%) but totally worth it to not fight about money."

Asked how his three girls respond to the family's frugal lifestyle, Sam pointed out that they don't miss anything because nothing has been subtracted from their lives. Besides, they never hear their parents argue about money and aren't subject to underlying financial stress.

When they want to do something fun, they head outside to ride their bikes and have a picnic. And a few years ago, they spent a month living in Denmark. Sam calls travel the family's "biggest splurge."

Sam started his blog GovWorkerFi as a way to document his path toward financial independence. It turned into an easy-to-understand guide that helps other government employees become more fully aware of their benefits.

Sam now has a place where other government workers can learn more about things like retirement, background checks, federal cost-of-living adjustments, and parental leave. And, as mentioned, Sam uses the blog to journal about the path he and Kari are on to total financial independence.

Whether or not the girls get the latest toys at the same time as their friends or Sam and Kari ever buy a new car is irrelevant because they've managed to figure out how to live life to the fullest without going to bed stressed about money. He's working now to help others do the same.

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How a Couple With 3 Kids Paid Off Their Mortgage in 10 Years - The Motley Fool

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FINANCE | The right emotions can be useful in investing – The Livingston Parish News

Posted: at 3:58 am

You may have heard that its important to take the emotions out of investing. But is this true for all emotions?

Certainly, some emotions can potentially harm your investment success. Consider fear. If the financial markets are going through a down period which is actually a normal part of the investment landscape you might be so afraid of sustaining losses that you sell even the investments that have good prospects and are suitable for your needs.

Greed is another negative emotion. When the financial markets are rising, you might be so motivated to cash in on some big gains that you will keep purchasing investments that might already be overpriced and since these investments are already expensive, your dollars will buy fewer shares.

In short, the combination of fear and greed could cause you trouble.

But other emotions may prove useful. For example, if you can channel the joy youll feel upon achieving your investment goals, you may be more motivated to stay on track toward achieving them. To illustrate: You may want to see your children graduate from college someday. Can you visualize them walking across the stage, diplomas in hand? If so, to help realize this goal, you might find yourself ready and willing to contribute to a college savings vehicle, such as a 529 plan. Or consider your own retirement: Can you see yourself traveling or pursuing your hobbies or taking part in whatever activities youve envisioned for your retirement lifestyle? If you can keep this happy picture in mind, you may find it easier to maintain the discipline needed to consistently invest in your IRA, 401(k) or other investment accounts.

Another motivating force is the most powerful emotion of all love. If you have loved ones who depend on you, such as a spouse and children, you need to protect their future. One key element of this protection is the life insurance necessary to take care of your familys needs housing, education and so on should something happen to you. Your employer may offer group life insurance coverage, but it might not be sufficient, so you may want to supplement it with your own policy.

Furthermore, you may need to protect your loved ones from another threat your own vulnerability to the need for long-term care. Someone turning age 65 today has almost a 70% chance of eventually needing some type of long-term care, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This type of care, such as an extended nursing home stay or the help of a home health aide, is extremely expensive, and, for the most part, is outside the reach of Medicare. So, to pay for long-term care, you might have to drain a good part of your resources or depend on your grown children for financial help.

To keep your financial independence and avoid possibly burdening your family, you may want to consult with a financial professional who can recommend a strategy and appropriate solutions to cover long-term care costs.

By drawing on positive emotions, you can empower yourself to make the right financial moves throughout your life.

Jennifer Barrett (AAMS) is a local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

225-612-0413 | jennifer.barrett@edwardjones.com

Edward Jones. Member SIPC.

Edward Jones, its employees and financial advisors are not estate planners and cannot provide tax or legal advice. You should consult your estate-planning attorney or qualified tax advisor regarding your situation.

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FINANCE | The right emotions can be useful in investing - The Livingston Parish News

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Only 2% of Black Families Have a Net Worth Above $1 Million, According to New Study – Entrepreneur

Posted: at 3:58 am

June23, 20214 min read

An estimated 2% of Black households, roughly 340,000 families, have anet worthover $1 million, according to theeconomic state of Black Americareport. In comparison, more than one in every seven White households have surpassed the million dollar mark.

Wealth flows through us, not to us, says J.D. Smith, author ofFinancial Distancing: How to Economically Quarantine Your Wealth,in an interview withBlack Enterprise. We shouldnt be six feet apart when it comes to building wealth.

He continues, We are constantly transferring money from one institution to another. We go to school and have to take on additional jobs to fund our education and overall living expenses. Money typically goes from our jobs to the education system. And this pattern doesnt stop after graduation. When we get into the workforce, money often flows from our jobs to pay hefty mortgage and student debt payments to keep up with the lifestyles of our colleagues. We need to allocate more money toward investing if we want to build wealth.

This week, McKinsey & Company released a new study examining the major factors that contribute to wealth gaps facing Black Americans.

Related:Kanye West Is Now the RichestBlackMan in American History

The study explores ways in which occupational choices, spending decisions, debt load, and saving habits contribute to the net worth of Black families. The study also examines how policy and labor laws consciously lifted the wealth potential of the white middle class while excluding Black workers. The sum of these factors and centuries of inequities have contributed to the growing wealth gap we see today.

The report summarizes occupational representation in various industries within the United States. Black workers are concentrated in lower wage jobs. They are also paid less than white workers for doing the same job. According to the report, more than two out of five Black workers earn less than $30,000 a year. In the long run, lower earnings leads to less savings, more debt traps, and limited investment opportunities.

Overall, the report reveals that Black households have one-eighth the wealth of the median White household. When you break down the numbers, the inequities are even more depressing. An estimated 7.8 million Black families have a net worth of less than $10,000. Approximately 3.5 million families have a negative net worth due to the overwhelming burden of debt.

Related:Kanye and Kim Kardashian's Daughter, North West, Makes It on the List of Richest Kids in America

Although the wealth statistics are startling for Black families, there are a growing number of individuals who are moving closer to their financial goals every day.

Lakisha Simmons, an associate professor of analytics at Belmont University, started her wealth building journey in 2016. She only had $5,000 in savings after her marriage ended. Five years later, her net worth has exceeded $750,000 and shes on track to become a millionaire next year. Simmons reached her goals by managing her expenses, maxing out her retirement accounts, and investing in brokerage accounts.

More Black people are retiring early and showing others how to build their net worth at any age.Jackie Cummings Koskistarted investing her money and reached financial independence at age 46. Three years later, sheretiredwith a net worth of $1.3 million while making less than $95,000 a year.

Low savings rates have led to more debt in Black communities, according to McKinsey & Companys study. Thats why Koski advocates saving a consistent amount every week to achieve financial goals. She shares that saving $50 a week for 40 years could help more people achieve their millionaire goals.

Youre not going to be saving or investing unless in your mind you believe it will make a difference, Koski toldMarket Watch. It may take a while to really get your head around things like me, but it happens, and when it does, it is very, very powerful.

The report shows that the median Black family wealth is $24,000 while median White family wealth is around $188,000. According to the report, Black wealth could skyrocket if financial barriers were dismantled.

Related:Whiskey Brand Announces $50 Million Fund to Help Other Minority-Owned and -Founded Spirit Brands

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Only 2% of Black Families Have a Net Worth Above $1 Million, According to New Study - Entrepreneur

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