Your Second Half of Life Should Be Filled With These 4-Letter Words

The second half of life (I’ll optimistically call it the 50-to-100 phase) is rife with both opportunity and challenge. It’s a time when social expectations expect us to begin to “wind down” rather than “rewind;” to “land” and not “take off;” to retire … Continue reading

Blue Zones, Part 2: How the World’s Oldest People in Asia and Europe Make Their Money Last

(In 2008, National Geographic writer Dan Buettner published his bestselling book, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, about the five “longevity pockets” around the world. For this weekly series, Next Av… Continue reading

Blue Zones, Part 1: How the World’s Oldest People Make Their Money Last

(In 2008, National Geographic writer Dan Buettner published his bestselling book, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, about the five “longevity pockets” around the world: The Nicoya Peninsula of Costa R… Continue reading

The 4 Things That Matter Most Late in Life

When I was asked to contribute to an international survey on “What is most important for well-being in later life?” my first response was: Oh, I can easily come up with an answer to that question. A few seconds after I said yes, I realized that I shoul… Continue reading

Barreling Towards Retirement, With 10 Years Between Us

When my wife, Evelyne, and I got married 27 years ago, the absolute last thing on our minds was retirement. Fast forward 27 years, with me now 66 and Evelyne turning 56 in a few months, and retirement is fast-becoming one of the first things on our min… Continue reading

How to Avoid the Retirement Freak-out

(This is an excerpt from the book THE DUMB THINGS SMART PEOPLE DO WITH THEIR MONEY by Jill Schlesinger. Copyright © 2019 Jill Schlesinger. Reprinted by arrangement with Ballantine Books, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC. All Rights R… Continue reading

How to Avoid Becoming a ‘Bored Boomer’ in Retirement

(This article previously appeared on the Make Aging Work site.) A Certified Financial Planner friend of mine shared a story over breakfast recently. One of his long-standing clients — let’s call him Jack —  who had fully retired six months earlier, cal… Continue reading

8 Retirement Planning Mistakes to Avoid

(The following is excerpted from Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement by Larry E. Swedroe and Kevin Grogan. Published by Harriman House. Copyright (c) 2019. All rights reserved. This book is available at all bookstores and online b… Continue reading

Next Avenue Picks the 6 Best New Personal Finance Books

There are two problems with many personal finance books. One, they’re dull. Two, they often tell you what you already know or suspect. So it’s refreshing when new ones come along that are actually interesting reading and helpful. Here are my six favori… Continue reading

Our Most Popular Stories of 2018

Next Avenue published nearly 1,000 stories in 2018. Below are the 10 our visitors read the most. Discover something you might have missed or enjoy a previous favorite. Thank you for reading and supporting Next Avenue in 2018. We hope you’ll join us in … Continue reading