First, getting started what about planning to free out of your existing debt?. I got cornered by the remaining amount of debts I had on the day of my retirement. No matter how small the balances is it is still burdensome to the retirement. My housing loan, my new car financing and some balances in my three credit cards. Three of my five children were still in college studying. Anyway, stop worrying as every problem has it own solution.

Managing debts very often is unbearable. It can be alleviated by planning them effectively before the retirement. I bought a new FWD jeep as I thought it would be difficult to secure a new loan upon retirement. Furthermore, I thought it could save me from some repair bills for maintaining my old 740 Volvo during the retirement. Few friends said retirement with style. Truly, that was a mistake I made prior to my retirement. I had actually created a new borrowing.

Second, try to allocate more of your present disposable income toward repaying your debt said the speaker. Otherwise, try to restructure the balance to make your future monthly installment smaller within your retirement capacity. In my case it was not an easy task as it requires much scarifies. I tried but the bank gave me thousands of excuses not to allow me to rescheduling my home loan. Finally with so much thoughts and guidance I sold my house and bought a smaller one for cash.

Third, try to get rid of your other consumer debt especially the credit cards. Lets how high is the credit lines be as upon retirement we have no mean to maintain it anymore. I settled all my balances left on my three credit cards but the big mistake again was by keeping them for future use. Believe it or not the amounts shot up to the maximum.

Remember! Bankers will not wait another month for the portfolio to turn default. The collection unit will closely follow up on loan defaulters with no mercy to legal proceedings, and it would be much entertaining if you have had given them only one phone line on your application. Upon settlement, I then switched to use Debit Visa Cards from two different banks. Think the benefit of cash-and-carry. Thanks God for granting me a small business running which actually helps my retirement life going smooth with uninterrupted small incomes.

Next, stop creating new borrowings. Control your spending and learn to live on a smaller amount of money another panel of speakers said. I had actually not taken the advice highlighted by the speaker in the seminar seriously and ended buying a new vehicle for other unbalanced reasoning.

The last but not least try not to use your retirement funds available to bail others out of their problems. The small loan that I have given to someone out of pity never returned. Again, should you need to expand your existing business, no matter how small that it be think it wisely as the business grows bigger the risks are getting broader too. I also used some of my retirement funds for my business expansion and find it hard to regain.

Good Luck and Happy Retirement with lots of money and loves.

To those soon to be retiring, my sincere advice is for you to watch out your retirement red zone period closely and cheerfully. That is the two-three years before and after your retirement date, some may suggest five years. Suit yourself as we are the one who will face the situation. Watch the time closely because we do not want to miss any new opportunity available during that critical period. And cheerfully as we need to be happy with less tension in facing that new environment called retirement. Again, work on it seriously as much as your former employer needed you to work on a business strategy to stay competitive. As a retiree we need to stay competitive to keep the incomes running. Nothing is new as you have had actually experienced it well while preparing for your future during the school days. The different is we do not have a tutor now.

Retirement is real. The challenges are real too. Our financial needs are so real that we really need to strike harder. Retirement, retirement and retirement as the words spread. Remember! We are growing and growing as the ages of sixties, seventies and eighties are approaching near.

I retired from office at the age of fifty-five that is the legal retirement age in the private sector in Malaysia. This retirement differs with those of early retirement schemes or retire due to laid off. For obvious reasons these groups of people are of young energetic and still within the employment age limit. As the unemployment rate is on the uprising the best possible opportunity opened to retiree is to set up a small business entity to continue generating new incomes. Can anyone imagine living without an income?.

My wife once advised me to draw up a retirement plan similar to those of my former corporate business strategy. Such a plan I thought would be nothing more than just another good to read and nice to keep paper. My perception had proven me wrong and I forced myself to complete the plan. It was much too late, one year after instead of one or two years before the retirement. Lucky enough to realize from the spending pattern that I failed to adjust to that new environment, retired with no new incomes.

When things get bored my other favorites gardening and photographing appears to smoothen my times cheerfully. What I see, what I feel and what I wanted to do seems to be disappointing at times. Believe it or not such hobbies helps to cheer up the life and ease some doubts . Flowers I planted most are roses and hibiscus that is a common tropical plant with large bright-colored flowers. As roses are colorful so are our lives as sixties are as beautiful as the thirties ….

I joined Royal Malaysian Air Force after my secondary school. Both my late parents objected the idea. In 1966 I was admitted to the Royal Air Force Training School based in Singapore in aircraft engineering course. I could still remember the glance of one handsome kind- hearted 35 years old British course Instructor Corporal Speaks. Life in the Air Force was tough especially for a young grown eighteens like many of us. It was really very-very tough. Thanks to the great Mr. Speaks. His magic touch enabled us trainees to continue stay another day and another day.

As many other servicemen alike we were trained to put public interests first, followed with security and self-defense in order to succeed. Those good values have actually grown in depth in my life and perhaps to many retired service personnels world wide. Like few others, I resigned from the Air Force after the service contract ended. I was just then 28 years old.

Spending of $1.00 nowadays is seen negligible. What about transacting the same many times a day unrecorded ?.  Tea breaks, buying a bottle of mineral water, sweets, cigarette and so on is quite normal. Try to think deeper still on some non budgeted expenses.

In addition, start calculating the times and costs of securing a Place where the business is going to be located. The Products that we want to sell, the Price that we want to compete and the Promotions needed both on the product and the business.

Cost of setting a ’small business’ is not small as the name reflects. Certainly it is far from free. Even the make shift stall needs a business license to operate. I spent ~not wasting~ lots of my valuable times just to negotiate for 10 percents reduction on rental deposits of my store that hardly successful. Still, more times and funds will be spent in locating the whereabout of the suppliers and assessing the products.

For the big stores owners the scenario is clear. Vendors are always at their doorsteps offering competitive discounts and credit terms. Being a so-called ’small business’ our strength is the Money-in-Hand. The strength of my bargains is my ability to pay on demand before getting the products.

There are many silent millionaires within the small business sectors.  Small-Business gives many openings to more challenging opportunities to expand for bigger business . It could guarantee a good life-time career and future. Many individuals have proven it successfully.

My venture to the internet business was motivated by my daughter’s saying… little investment big income. The strength she said is within the Finger-Tips to Press- Buttons. Here I am trying hard to put another portfolio to my lifeline. I am sure you too want it?.

Life is really changing without one noticing it.  Feeling fit as ever, quite often I got tired fast after some light exercise and ended up with a short nap in the late morning.  My worries started as it was becoming an habitual. Not sure if it is a normal thing to happen when a man reaches sixty.  Upon advise of my doctor and friends of my age I resumed taking food supplements which I dropped several months ago with new self budget.  True it works, food supplement helps.  Will the cutting on such spending really worth?.  Think about it should you experience the same.

On my returns from my business visit to Kluang in central Johore, I decided to register for a day Internet-Business-Workshop just to get first hand information on the business. The seminar was held in a 5-stars hotel in Kuala Lumpur. True, seeing is believing. A day after the Workshop I managed to secure a paid domain name and a Web Hosting from a company recommended by my daughter. Here I am ….. ready for the business.

In the process of creating a web site I have actually browsed through all possibles initiatives listed in Yahoo and Google. Not forgetting blogs recommended by my daughter. Initially I have a fear in clicking buttons that suggests proposals to subscribe, downloading and others alike.  I actually fear for mistakes, penalties and charges that I could commit unnecessarily.  There are Terms and Conditions attached to each Agreement for readers’ awareness, read them. The contents are true simple, precise and easy to understand. What more they all are for free. Thanks to Yahoo, Google, Bloggers and other sites which have made-it-so-easy for any one new to explore and as for me it helps in many ways to clear through my doubts and get hands-on.