The Platinum Living Network

When I was a kid, probably around 7 or 8 years old, I played baseball in “minor league,” or whatever was before Little League. I don’t remember anything about it, except for this one at bat that was near the end of one of the games. As I recall, the game was in the balance, and I think the opposing pitcher was walking a lot of batters. Possibly he had walked the bases loaded, which wouldn’t have been uncommon in that league (which is why T-Ball is a good idea – but I digress) Anyway, I must have made up my mind that this pitcher was going to walk me as well, because after the count went to 3 and 2, I took a pitch right down the middle for strike three. Now why, you may be asking, do I still remember this, over fifty years later? Because it bothered me. A lot. Enough for my brain to store it in a priority area and still remember it years later. It bothered me because I didn’t even swing. I took the easy way out. I didn’t even try to hit it. And I think on some level that day, I decided ...

Here's another book recommendation featured at www.platinum years.net. This is the most motivating book I have ever read on any health topic. Read on to see why: Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You're 80 and Beyond , by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D. - When seventy year old Chris Crowley first went to see his new doctor, Harry Lodge, Chris found Harry's approach to the medical issues of aging so compelling, and challenging, that before long they were writing this book together. And this book is the first (after many, believe me!) that actually has me exercising and, I must say, feeling much better, and a little lighter. Basically, Harry's approach is this: There are two things going on in your body - age and decay . Decay you can't do anything about, but it's the more minor of the two - Weaker eyesight, loss of skin tone, frequent trips to the ... need I go on? The big factor is aging, and most of its effects are preventable and eve...

It's time in our extended family to make out the Christmas lists for the rest of the family. With email this is a lot easier than it used to be. One member of the family, my brother-in-law, started his own tradition a few years back by including a Christmas poem with each year's list. This year, instead of a Christmas poem, he included this short "Testament of a Fisherman," which I appreciated because, to be honest, I just don't "get" fishing. I've often asked fisherman friends what it is that they love about it, and I really listen, but I still don't get it. Of course, many of them don't "get" the attraction of sailing... How can they be so blind? :-) Anyway, this post isn't really about either fishing or sailing. It's about passion. Passion is integral to "platinum living." Why do we have passion for some things in life? How do you find your passion(s)? And then how can you live them out? I will have lots to say...

I just finished this article for the web site. I probably won't post it until tomorrow, when the other two pages that link to it will be ready. But YOU can read it :-). This question is, in my experience, the hands down winner as the most popular question asked of a financial planner. And it's no wonder, because what it really translates into is, "When can I get at all that money I put away for all those years?" And the answer to that question, "When CAN I..." is really any old time. But the answer to "When SHOULD I ..." is usually age 70 1/2. And here's why... First of all, let me simplify the terminology a bit by calling all of these plans by their generic name, "qualified plans." They earn that name because they "qualify" under IRS regulations for pretax contributions and tax deferred growth. In other words, the contributions to these plans are made in pretax dollars, either because you can deduct the amount contribute...

Within days after beginning the work on Platinum Living , I discovered Chasing Daylight: How My Forthcoming Death Transformed my Life . I was just finishing work on the Introduction for my book. I was making the point that it would be great to prioritize our living in the 15-20 good years that we have left with the perspective of those who don't have as long. As they say, "Nobody on their death bed ever wishes they had spent more time at the office." Shortly after I wrote those very words, I discovered Chasing Daylight , which is the autobiographical story of a man who had to deal with that very issue, having been given a three month "death sentence" by his doctor. For more about this book, the original review is below: Chasing Daylight: How My Forthcoming Death Transformed my Life , by Gene O'Kelly - You must read this book. In April of 2005, at the age of 53 and in the prime of a high powered career as CEO of a “big four” accounting firm, the author Eugen...

When I began tackling the social security issues, I knew it would mean I'd have to get the "Platinum Finances" section of http://www.platinumyears.net/ up and running. So that will be this weekend's project. At a minimum, I'll be writing a welcome/summary/background page, and specific pages on the "when to take social security" decision, and the "when does it make sense to withdraw money from a 401(k), 403(b) or IRA Rollover," because that accessibility occurs even earlier, at age 59 1/2. That's a question I've gotten very frequently over the years, and people are usually surprised by my answer. Stay tuned. But while I'm busy doing that, I thought I'd post over here some of my book reviews that I wrote when I first opened up the test web site. I doubt thay've been read by many people, and I just began going public with these sites this week. It'll give you something to read while I'm busy with the website. I'm a...

It was probably Jim Arnold and his great attitude toward career change (see link in previous post) that inspired me. But in any event, I figured I might as well introduce what I consider a key statistic toward the achievement of our mission – Helping you get the best out of the rest of your life. You see, when I first started studying boomers facing retirement, it was from the perspective of a financial planner. And I have to tell you, it was pretty depressing looking at all the statistics that illustrate how woefully unprepared we are for what I am now calling “the life stage formerly known as retirement.” But then I came across this very heartening little statistic. A full 79% of all boomers expect to work in some capacity during their retirement! Now this is not entirely great news because these work plans are not all voluntary. Many of us are making these plans because we know we have to. Which is still fine, because I’m convinced that this need is a huge blessing in disguise....