One of our favorite financial writers has long been Jane Bryant Quinn, and there’s great material from her 2016 book, How to Make Your Money Last: The Indispensable Retirement Guide, in the January-February edition of AARP Bulletin. Her piece in the Your Money section is chock full of valuable financial information, including her cautioning against a number of retirement mistakes: Retiring Too Early; Ignoring Your Life Expectancy; Tapping Benefits Too Soon; Retiring with Debt; Failing to Protect Your Spouse; and Avoiding Stocks, about which she writes:
“Over the next 10 to 20 years, American businesses will grow and their stocks will, too. Cash and bonds get you through your first retirement years, but you need growth from stocks to support the second half of your retirement.”
We heartily recommend AARP Bulletin, and the latest edition also includes solid articles on scam artists; telemedicine; “thriving in an intergenerational workplace”; and soaring drug costs.
Finally, for all trivia fans and others, the publication reminds us that Jan. 31 is an anniversary of sorts—on that day in 1940 the first Social Security check was issued. In case you’re curious, the amount was for $22.54, and recipient Ida May Fuller’s card number was 00-000-001. She died in 1975 at age 100.