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To avoid feeling guilty about spending your retirement savings, Byrke recommends developing a minimum and maximum budget based upon assets and retirement income sources. Then set a monthly spending goal.
“It seems odd that this is a problem when Americans, in general, are unprepared for retirement,” he said. But people who have a fear of spending their savings can miss out on life goals and enjoyment if they don’t make an effort to use their money.
If you have saved in a retirement account such as a 401k, IRA or SEP-IRA, you are required to start taking minimum withdrawals the year you turn 70 1/2. You have to withdraw a certain amount even if you don’t need the money.
“I have many clients who will say, ‘I don’t need to take this much out,’” Geary said. But if you don’t, you’ll have to pay a tax penalty equal to 50 percent of the amount you should’ve withdrawn.
The best way to avoid having to take required minimum distributions that you don’t need is to save in different types of accounts rather than just a 401k or IRA, Geary said. For example, you could stash some of your savings in a Roth IRA, which isn’t subject to required minimum distributions. If you have a Roth 401k, you could convert it to a Roth IRA when you retire, Geary said.
Selling your home and relocating to a cheaper locale might seem like a smart financial move in retirement. “A lot of retirees immediately decide to move away and start over,” said Leon C. LaBrecque, CEO of LJPR Financial Advisors in Troy, Mich. But moving in retirement can backfire.
LaBrecque said he has a retired client who has moved five times in 10 years. They kept relocating until they found their ideal spot. “It’s a waste of money and energy,” he said.
Before packing your belongings and putting your home on the market, LaBrecque recommends renting in the place you’re considering for a couple of months. If you find that city or lifestyle isn’t right for you, you can return home without the hassle.
You might have more time to hang out with your friends in retirement. But once you start socializing more frequently and planning activities together, problems might arise.
“You may have had a similar career as your best buddy, but if he or she saved better than you, your retirement lifestyles may not match up,” said Kristi Sullivan, owner of Sullivan Financial Planning in Denver, Colo.
To avoid having to feel like you must keep up with your friends, “be the one who suggests activities first and keep them within your budget,” Sullivan said. And don’t be afraid to decline invitations to outings that would break your budget. “If you can’t afford the round-the-world cruise, don’t go,” she said.
Click through to learn about money myths that can destroy your retirement.
If you can't retire with $1 million, you can still live well.
It's never too late to save.
Mallory Bibler, a senior at Hayes High School, is pictured with her second place state level prize from competing in the “Voice of Democracy: Why My Vote Matters” audio essay competition, a contest run by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
A Delaware Hayes High School senior took home second place and more than $6,000 in scholarships in a audio essay contest held earlier this month.
Mallory Bibler said Thursday that last semester, one of her teachers encouraged her to write about why voting matters and later encouraged her to submit that speech for the “Voice of Democracy: Why My Vote Matters” audio essay competition, a contest run by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Bibler said she had never heard of the competition and didn’t plan on submitting until her teacher, Michelle Howes, told her to record the essay on a CD and submit it to the contest.
Bibler said she won first place at the Delaware VFW post, received $150 in scholarships, and was invited to the district awards ceremony. Bibler said the organization sent her a packet about the state competition in the mail ahead of the district award ceremony, which spoiled the surprise that she had won first place at the district level with a prize of $1,500.
On Jan. 12, Bibler took second place among students from the 12 districts in Ohio, and she was given a prize of $5,000.
Bibler said after she returned to school following the state prize, she was congratulated by Principal Richard Stranges and many of her teachers.
Bibler said after she graduates in May, she’s planning on studying at The Ohio State University, where she’s considering majoring in communications.
The speeches of all 12 district winners were recorded and will be archived in the Library of Congress, the VFW reports.
Japan to ease limits on beef imports from U.S.
Japan plans to ease restrictions on beef imports from the U.S., Canada, France and the Netherlands imposed over fears of mad cow disease, farm ministry sources said Friday, the Kyodo news service reported.
The move was endorsed the same day by the ministry's panel on food safety, the sources said, Kyodo reported.
Japan currently allows imports of U.S. and Canadian beef only from cattle aged 20 months or younger, and totally bans beef imports from France and the Netherlands.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries intends to relax the restrictions as stepped-up safety and other measures have reduced the global number of cows infected with the brain-wasting disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, from 2,215 in 2001 to 45 in 2010 and to just 12 in the first nine months of this year, the sources said.
While the ministry will work out details of how to ease the restrictions, an increase in the age limit for U.S. and Canadian beef to 30 months or younger is expected to be among them, Kyodo reported.
(AFP) - Brazilian substitute Douglas scored a late double as Japan's Sanfrecce Hiroshima stunned Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande 2-1 to finish third at the Club World Cup on Sunday.
Former Spurs midfielder Paulinho headed the Chinese in front after just four minutes in Yokohama, celebrating by racing to the bench to hold up the shirt of team-mate Zou Zheng, who broke his leg in the 3-0 semi-final defeat by Barcelona.
But Douglas stooped to nod home a deserved equaliser for the J-League title holders in the 70th minute after some poor defending. He then headed in the winner seven minutes from time to complete a dramatic turnaround.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's Evergrande had been overwhelming favourites to become the first Asian representatives to take third place at the tournament since South Korea's Pohang Steelers in 2009. But they wilted badly after a strong start.
Sanfrecce became the third Japanese team to win the third-place play-off after Urawa Reds in 2007 and Gamba Osaka in 2008.
Pint-sized striker Hisato Sato was Hiroshima's most potent attacker in the first half but Evergrande's towering goalkeeper Li Shuai brilliantly thwarted the J-League's joint record goal-scorer on three occasions.
Evergrande defender Zhang Linpeng saw a shot deflected on to the post, while Mei Feng cleared superbly off the line from Takuya Marutani at the other end in a see-saw game which really caught fire when Douglas came off the bench.
European champions Barcelona were playing South America's Libertadores Cup holders River Plate in the final later on Sunday.
8 place. Beside him were his hat, stick, and traveling bag. In his right hand he clutched a scrap of paper. Gently the visitors removed the paper from hIs un- resisting hand and read the simple mes- sage: "I have gone to N ew York." Lady in Bangles M ACY'S kept its chin up one day not long ago under distressing cir- cumstances. The advertising depart- ment clipped a photograph from a fashion magazine and stood it up on the ensemble-jewelry counter, because the photograph showed a lady wearing bangles and on the counter were just such bangles as she was wearing. Macy's keeps an eye out for such pic- tures; one of the tricks. They were happy about this picture until two ladies came along, looked at it, exclaim- ,ed, looked at it closer, and then burst into loud, happy laughter. An execu- tive was somewhat shocked by this and finally broke down and introduced himself to the ladies, asking what was so funny. This started them off again. When one of them got her breath, she said, "Why, that's Mrs. Gimbel." Well, sure enough, it was Mrs. Adam Gimbel, whose husband is head of Saks-Fifth Avenue. They proved it by getting another copy of the maga- zine (the advertising department had snipped off her name when it trimmed the picture). The caption further re- vealed that the dress Mrs. Gimbel was wearing had been imported especially by Saks. Macy's braced itself and decided to stand fast. The picture remaIned up for three weeks, until it got dirty. N 0- body else identified Mrs. Gi bel. Not So Hot O NE of this department's most thorough and conscientious in- vestigators set out with a thermometer to gather temperature statistics. It was a day when the Weather Bureau gave the official temperature at noon as 82 0 . Our research worker began at the Metropolitan Museum. Inside the tomb of Per-neh (2650 B.C.), his thermometer registered 80. Standing beside the picture of Washington cross- ing the Delaware, it ran up to 84. Our man went across the Park to the Museum of Natural History. On the way over, in the sun, his thermometer went up to 120. Inside the Museum (right next to Elephas C oluJnbi, the Ice Age mammoth), it went down to 85. After that, our researcher went all around town. The Aquarium was 79. Two refrigerated department stores, though they felt cool, were arqund 80, and two movie theatres were around 75. Grant's T omh, with 70, was the coolest place ahove ground. The I.R.T. was between 85 and 90, except in the Grand Central station of the Astoria line, three levels down, which was 76 and breezy because of trains comIng up from under the river. Stations of the Eighth A venue subway averaged 76 and the trains 78. The platform of the 190th Street station (in- side a mountain) was only 67. The coolest place in town, and the loneliest. The Weather Bureau told our re- searcher that a temperature of 120 in the sun is not unusual, that sun temperature sometimes goes up into the 140's. Official temperatures are al- ways taken in the shade. Air-condi- tioned places are cooler than the ther- mometer indicates, or feel that way to humans, ,because the air is dry. It's the humidity that makes us unhappy, as much as anything. Lonely Heart M R. ALFRED TURNER, of East . Ninety-sixth Street, was show- ing a surprised friend from Xanadu, or somewhere, through the Radio City Music Hall one day-the fifteenth in- stant, we believe-and they got on an elevator to ride from the Grand Lounge to the top mezzanine. They were the only persons in the car ex- cept the elevator man, who was talk- ing into the little phone on the car wall. He told how many people were in the car ("There are two gentlemen in the car") , what floor they were passing, how pleasantly cool it was in the elevator, and various other facts, all to a mysterious ear listening somewhere. This was too much for Mr. Turner. As he got off, he asked the operator if he had to make a detailed report of every trip of the 1 " N ." . d h e evator. 0, SIr, sal t e operator. "Oh no, sir. I just get awfully lone- ome sometimes here all hy myself and have to talk to somebody." Big Shots ALL the shooting lately for digni- n taries got us interested in cannon salutes and we found out about them from Captain Brown of Governors Island. He is in charge of local salut- ing and had a couple of busy days last week. On Tuesday, Ras Desta Dem- tu, son-in-law of the Elect of God and Light of the World (the Emperor of Ethiopia), arrived. It had been in- tended to give him nineteen guns, as a special ambassador, but at the last minute \Vashington decided that, al- though but an in-law, he should have twenty-one guns, as a member öf a reigning family. In saluting, this is the works. General Balbo got nine- teen guns the next day, as a Cabinet member. Only Presidents, ex-Presidents, sov- ereigns, and members of reigning royal families get the twenty-one-gun or international salute. If Hoover went to Governors Island, he would get twenty-one guns when he arrived and twenty-one when he left. Three field- pieces were rushed from the Island ((]J hys'tcal Culture, gentlemen?"
The Daily Pilot is looking for people to feature in its third installment of Unsung Heroes, an end-of-the-year series dedicated to those who make a difference in their communities but work quietly, selflessly and largely without recognition.
Last year, the Pilot featured people like Robert Morse, aka “Santa Bob,” who was homeless before he started running a church service he used to frequent.
Hydee Beth, a Westside Costa Mesa schools activist, was featured as well for her efforts to make others fall in love with the Westside.
Then there was Robbie Prepas of Laguna Beach, a certified nurse-midwife who joined the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ disaster medical assistance team.
The Pilot wants to find more people like them for our series. Here’s a tip: Featured folks won’t be frequent newsmakers, notables, politicians or those with agents — just regular people who probably have never been in the news before.
They also must live or work in or otherwise have strong ties to Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach or Laguna Beach.
Please email your submissions by Nov. 30 to [email protected]. You also may call the newsroom at (714) 966-4699 to recommend someone.
George Gao covers the United Nations for IPS. He focuses on diplomatic negotiations, human rights and U.S. foreign policy. He also writes about environmental issues, public health and social movements in the greater New York area. George earned his B.A. from Vassar College in international politics and environmental studies.
Wambui Karunyu, 72, and her seven-year-old grandson are the only surviving members of their immediate family. Karunyu’s husband and five children all succumbed to the hardships of living in the semi-arid area of lower Mukurweini district in central Kenya.
When U.S. President Barack Obama tried to drum up momentum for airstrikes in Syria to punish and deter the use of chemical weapons, he failed to gain much of a following.
The China pavilion is a red, inverted pyramid in Shanghai that was built for the city’s bustling 2010 World Expo. While the pavilion pays some homage to China’s ancient past, it mostly shows off China’s 21st century ambitions, with as much swagger as the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Edward Snowden, 29, left behind a comfortable lifestyle in Hawaii as a private contractor for the Pentagon's National Security Agency (NSA) because he did not want to help create an "architecture for oppression" for fellow citizens.
U.S. President Barack Obama is set to host his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Jun. 7-8 for their first bilateral meeting as heads of state. Figuring on their agenda is how to address a precarious North Korea, which is armed with a small nuclear arsenal and vying for a bigger one.
For many in the international community, the iconic sculpture outside the U.N. Visitors’ Centre appears more prominent today, as the majority of member states tightened its knot by adopting the first ever Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).
Viktor Bout earned a few monikers in his heyday: “Merchant of Death”, “Sanctions Buster” and “Lord of War”. He’s the poster boy for illicit arms brokers – a guild of shadowy intermediaries who link arms suppliers to their end users.
The U.N. organ tasked with maintaining international peace and security harbours a serious conflict at its core.
A spate of legal battles in the southern state of Louisiana has shed new light on the unfair recruitment and employment practices of Filipino guest workers at several companies in the United States.
Peter “Pete” Seeger is a 93-year old U.S. folk legend who resides near Wappingers Falls in southern New York. He can be spotted occasionally on the traffic-heavy Route 9, flanked by world peace signs and armed with a banjo.
The U.N. has opened up public platforms to engage the world on how best to replace the expiring Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and frame a new development agenda, post-2015.
Some of the most harrowing cases of gender-based violence Kathryn Bolkovac came across while working as a U.N. human rights investigator in Bosnia involved a perpetrator dubbed “the Doctor” by the women and girls he abused.
The “Spirit of America” is one of 10 ferries that carry passengers from Manhattan to Staten Island. Its keel – which lies on the bottom of the boat and carves through the waters of New York Harbour– was built with steel from the collapsed Twin Towers.
November was a busy month for Las Cruces. Here's the biggest stories to get caught up on.
November had a lot going on. From the midterm elections to a record-setting nachos plate to a Día de los Muertos-themed wedding there was no shortage of stories. Whether you were out of town, preoccupied with Thanksgiving or just missed these stories, here’s the biggest stories from last month.
Democrat Xochitl Torres Small will represent New Mexico's second congressional district, but only after mounting a comeback on ballots counted the day after the election. Republican Yvette Herrell, who claimed victory on Election Night, has refused to concede and is exploring legal options.
Actor and comedian George Lopez was charged with battery for allegedly roughing up a man at Hooters. Lopez will be receiving a criminal summons to Las Cruces Municipal Court for the misdemeanor count.
Las Cruces unofficially set the world record for the largest serving of nachos. The monstrous creation weighed in at 5,039 pounds and was 110-feet long.
The Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces released the names of 28 clergy who served in the diocese and were "credibly accused" of sexual misconduct with a minor. Many of the instances happened before 1990.
Three more civil lawsuits alleging abuse by priests in Las Cruces — not among the 28 clergy named — were filed later in the month.
Real estate broker Sandra Espiritu is building a new office on Lohman Avenue near Del Monte Street. Shipping container architecture is an expanding trend across North America and Mexico, and Espiritu plans for the office to serve as a showcase for what can be done with shipping containers for both commercial and residential use.
A couple celebrated a Día de los Muertos-themed wedding as a way to incorporate the bride's daughter, who passed away years earlier. For Jacobo Martos and Maria Guadalupe Carrillo-Martos, this celebration of loved ones was integral to their wedding from the start.
A couple was forced to prove that New Mexico is a state while applying for a marriage license in Washington, D.C. The clerk wouldn't accept Gavin Clarkson's driver's license — from New Mexico — as proof of his identity. Rather, the clerk, who mistakenly believed Clarkson was a foreign citizen — said he would have to provide an international passport to get the marriage license.
Fernando Molina, who was shot along with his bother when they tried to stop a burglary in progress on Valentine's Day 2015, died after more than three years fighting for his life. Charismatic, strong, protector, risk-taker and stubborn — these are all words that Molina's older sister, Melissa Molina, used to describe her brother. His brother, Antonio "Tony" Molina Jr., 37 at the time and one year older than Fernando, was pronounced dead at Memorial Medical Center soon after the shooting.
Many people who are interested in composting do not do it because they think compost bins have to be large, smelly, rodent magnets and eyesores. If aesthetics are a major concern for you, a commercial compost bin may be the answer.
Here are three compost bins that are perfect for urbanites and people with limited space to devote to composting.
The Geobin Composting System does not look like much, but its size and price point make it ideal for single apartment dweller that does not produce much organic waste. Perhaps someone with just some kitchen scraps, houseplant and container garden trimmings a year. It is adjustable so that it does not take up much space, and lightweight allowing you to move it with ease.
The Soilsaver compost bin is resistant to weather and UV rays, rust-free nylon fasteners, and features a locking lid to keep pests out and watering holes in the lid to keep the compost naturally moist inside. According to the Clean Air Gardening website, the design has been in production for more than 25 years and pretty popular. This black composting system is unobtrusive, and relatively attractive. It is recommended for a household of up to five people.
The AeroBin is my dream composting bin. It looks like it could be a storage unit or a tank of some kind. The thermal insulation of this compost bin is said to help in breaking down biomass and gets hot enough that noxious weeds and seeds are killed. There is a leachate tank and tap at the bottom of the bin allowing you to drain out excess moisture.
I regularly speak with would-be composters who say their apartment building owner or condominium board would never approve a compost bin. For people in those situations the AeroBin would be ideal because it is rodent resistant, reportedly produces little odor, and sleek design masks what is going on inside.
An upcoming post will feature my favorite DIY composting bins from around the Internet. Do you have a commercially available compost bin you would recommend to others with small spaces?
Composting doesn't have to be ugly. Here are three solutions to composting in small spaces.
Dubai: HP and UAE authorities conducted a number of operations throughout 2018, to disrupt the counterfeit trade of HP branded cartridges in UAE and around the world. From July through December 2018, UAE officials raided a number of clandestine workshops and private residences in the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where significant volumes of illicit, HP-branded products were concealed. Over 450,000 illicit items were seized, and the criminal rings — who were both assembling and distributing the goods — were seriously disrupted.
Counterfeiting is a crime. For users, such imitations can cause a multitude of problems that can cause performance and reliability issues. Should your printer break because of using counterfeit printer ink or toner, you could also have issues with your manufacturer’s warranty becoming not applicable.
In contrast, original HP products are designed to meet HP’s quality and reliability standards, based on a long history of inventing and testing. Original HP LaserJet and HP inkjet cartridges, unlike counterfeits, benefit from superior performance and consistent results. Across EMEA over the last five years, approximately 12 million counterfeits and components have been seized by local authorities, supported by HP. HP has conducted over 4,500 audits and inspections (CPPAs and CDIs) of partners’ stocks or suspicious deliveries for customers.
Sovereign investors, including wealth funds, made $14.1 billion worth of acquisitions in the second quarter, down 26 percent from the first three months of the year but underpinned by a rebound in real estate deals.
Data compiled by Thomson Reuters shows sovereign investors, a category that can include everything from state pension funds to oil-backed investment vehicles, were involved in 39 deals between April and June, six fewer than in the first quarter.
The single biggest deal was the $4.5 billion funding round for Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate of China's biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba Group Holding, which attracted China's CIC Capital, amongst others.
Some sovereign investors witnessed reduced inflows as a result of lower oil prices and increasing demands from cash-strapped governments - Russia for instance is proposing to empty one of its two sovereign funds next year.
Volatile markets have also taken a toll, with big direct investors such as Singapore's Temasek suffering a fall in the value of its portfolio of almost $18 billion over the past year.
This could be making the sector more cautious about committing new capital. However, industry experts suggested the publicly available figures might not tell the whole story, with some deals flying below the radar, such as those carried out by boutique fund managers on behalf of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs).
"There's a steady secular flow into illiquid investments which hasn't stopped, so the overall volumes should be higher," said Elliot Hentov, head of policy and research in the official institutions group at State Street Global Advisors.
"There are a lot of deals we don't see that have SWF participation."
Patrick Thomson, head of international institutional clients at JP Morgan Asset Management, said there was no requirement for private transactions to be reported, so some investments were not being captured in public data.
The overall volume was still 11 percent higher than the second quarter of 2015, helped by a handful of very large transactions.
The second largest deal was the $3.5 billion investment in ride-hailing service Uber by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, while the $2.5 billion sale of BlackRock's 43-storey office building in Singapore to the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) was in third place.
Following Britain's vote on June 23 to leave the European Union, London property markets have been thrown into turmoil with many funds freezing investor cash to counter ballooning outflows.
However, property-related deals made up roughly a quarter of the second quarter total, as SWFs continued to diversify away from low or negative yielding developed market government bonds.
Property offers predictable, repeatable cashflows, and yields of 3-5 percent in some core retail markets, JPMorgan's Thomson said. Also, prime office blocks are expensive, allowing investors to do very large single transactions.
"SWFs have relatively limited investment staff, and need to put quite a lot of money to work, so they need an asset class that can absorb a lot of capital," Thomson said.
Real estate has also proved easier for SWFs to access than infrastructure and private equity in recent years. An Invesco survey of sovereign investors found that the average portfolio exposure to real estate had risen to 6.5 percent in 2015, from 3 percent in 2012.
"There is a greater stock of real estate and a greater number of places to source deals," said Alex Millar, head of EMEA sovereigns, Middle East and Africa institutional sales at Invesco.
Some Gulf SWFs were said to have held back from new property buys in Britain before the referendum. But Norway's $830 billion fund said in March it was undeterred, and Singapore's Gif said the turmoil may even bring buying opportunities.
Josh Earnest, who was the final White House press secretary under President Barack Obama, and his wife, Natalie, last month paid $3.075 million for a seven-bedroom, 5,104-square-foot French Provincial house in Winnetka.