Thanks for the advice!

I appreciate the ideas submitted by Mike Farner and Michael Armour (which you can see by clicking on “Comments” at the bottom of the prior entry) in response to my request of a few weeks ago. Each will receive a nice gift courtesy of MEMBERS Capital Advisors. (Guys, call or email me with your shirt sizes.) Their key points (paraphrased):

Mike – Don’t carry a lot of debt or frivolous spending habits into retirement, and don’t underestimate how long your money has to last (so you don’t outlive it).

Michael – Know what you’re going to do before you hang it up so that you are in control of your life, or others will make the decisions for you.

Some others shared their ideas, but were unwilling to go public with them. One of the most intriguing suggestions was to check out international living. Besides improving your climate, it can also improve your financial status with a much lower cost of living, including much lower (if any) taxes. Don’t move to Florida and avoid state income tax, move to Panama (among many other exotic locales) and avoid all taxes!

This idea has always struck me as unpatriotic – earning your fortune (?) here in the great U. S. of A., then running off to retire somewhere else, taking your nest egg with you. But, in a way, it is also a patently American thing to do. If emigrating will result in a significant improvement in your quality of life, get in the boat!

I personally am not anywhere near actually making this kind of move – we’re well set up with our condo here and cottage up North. But, I can’t help but poke around a little, out of simple curiosity and just in case the political/economic system here gets (how shall I say it?) . . . too Un-American?

Anyone similarly curious might start by taking a look at this website:
http://www.internationalliving.com/


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