1.0Retirement Hangouthttps://retirementhangout.comHangout Hosthttps://retirementhangout.com/index.php/author/keith/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="Bni8csQTG4"><a href="https://retirementhangout.com/index.php/2018/12/10/welcome/">First Post!</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://retirementhangout.com/index.php/2018/12/10/welcome/embed/#?secret=Bni8csQTG4" width="600" height="338" title="“First Post!” — Retirement Hangout" data-secret="Bni8csQTG4" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://retirementhangout.com/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js /* ]]> */ </script> Welcome to my blog!  I retired in 2014, after working 30-plus years for natural resource agencies as a policy analyst and planner, including work on strategic planning, capital program budgeting, cost-benefit analysis, and watershed planning.   In this blog, I would like to share some of what I’ve learned as I’ve made the shift into life after work.  I will write several posts on the big question facing anyone contemplating retirement,“Can I afford it?”  Having obsessed over this question myself for some time, and waded through a morass of conflicting and self-serving financial advice, I’ve come to the realization that understanding where you stand financially is surprisingly simple – if you can screen out all the noise.   I will also write about: how to manage money and take withdrawals in retirement; when to take social security; are annuities as terrible as people seem to think; can you send a kid to college when you’re retired; caring for a parent or disabled child when you’re retired (and maybe beyond); and mitigating the financial impacts of the life’s nasty surprises and outright disasters.  I’ll point to some resources and financial calculators that I think are particularly valuable and well written. I hope you find my posts helpful, and that you are inspired to make sure your own financial plan is in order.  It requires only a modest effort, and you will sleep better at night. Please come back, check out my future posts, and let me know what you think.  Thanks for stopping by!http://retirementhangout.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/P8240203-1024x766.jpg